


Power of the Moon

by imkindofawkward



Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Death, F/F, F/M, First Fic!, Friendship, I Love You, I do mention suicide, It's really not that sad, Love, Naruto series rewrite, Not major though, OP OC, Please Proceed With Caution, Pre-Shippuden era, Series Rewrite, Shinobi, Tsuki Yukira - Freeform, Violence, if your sensitive…, naruto - Freeform, trigger warning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-28
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:07:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 34,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21552778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imkindofawkward/pseuds/imkindofawkward
Summary: I'm editing/ reconstructingLast edited: "Team Seven Passes!", December 24, 2020Tsuki Yukira, a girl with a very unfortunate past finds herself facing more struggles than most after being appointed Genin.*** Naruto series rewrite… Warning: may contain trigger words concerning suicide (though, it’s not that intense) or self-hate.
Relationships: Aburame Shino/Original Female Character(s), Akimichi Chouji/Original Female Character(s), Gaara (Naruto) & Original Female Character(s), Haruno Sakura & Original Female Character(s), Hyuuga Hinata/Original Female Character(s), Hyuuga Neji/Original Female Character(s), Inuzuka Kiba/Original Female Character(s), Nara Shikamaru/Original Female Character(s), Original Female Character & Everyone, Rock Lee/Original Female Character(s), Uchiha Sasuke/Original Female Character(s), Uzumaki Naruto/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 61





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> edited
> 
> Does someone want to write me a summary? Because I am not good at this.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A prologue to Yukira's story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last edited: December 24, 2020 (incomplete)

**July 20, Yukira is eight years old**

**_➤ Tsuki Daisuke_ **

_The cool Autumn breeze swept through the beautifully decorated courtyard of the Tsuki district, picking up small flower petals that may have fallen with the temperature._

_In the center of the courtyard sat Tsuki Daisuke, his wife and youngest, a cheerful, energetic, snowy-haired girl named Tsuki Yukira._

_They sat amongst the Sakura trees, marvelling in the beauty of the pink flowers that surround them with dimmed lanterns illuminating the path._

_It had been his wife’s idea to spend the evening in the garden that she had almost finished perfecting. She had pulled out blankets and pillows and laid them down in a clearing so they could look at the stars -a favourite pastime of theirs- after they finished the meal prepared by the housekeeps._

_Yukira, who was very much a mama’s girl, was cuddled into her mother’s chest, babbling about the things she did with cousins earlier in the day._

_Daisuke watched the exchange with a soft smile adorning his usually tense face, the light of his daughter’s soul warming his heart._

_“-Mother,” Yukira’s soft voice paused mid-story, “when is Yukio coming home?”_

_Daisuke almost laughed. Yes, while Yukira was a mama’s girl, it’d be nearly impossible to separate the two siblings whenever Yukio would return home from missions._

_Yukira and Yukio looked very similar; had they been the same age, one could call them twins. They both had long, snowy-white hair and very pale complexions, all very distinctive Tsuki clan member traits. Many of their features took after Daisuke; however, the small beauty mark under their grey eyes took after their mother._

_Yukira’s appearance confused a lot of people. Typically, the female members of the Tsuki clan didn’t inherit the white hair, pale skin genetics, something that has been known since the founding of the clan. But Yukira was different, which has been realized upon first laying eyes on her._

_There were rumours and tales that followed the Tsuki clan for millennia. Ones Daisuke wouldn’t like to believe; however, he knew what was fated to happen upon seeing his daughter on the night of her birth. In order to prevent inevitability, Daisuke studied and broadened his knowledge of seals for five months until he felt he could safely place one on the neck of his newborn daughter._

_To keep her safe, Daisuke denied any notion that Yukira would become a Kunoichi and follow in her brother’s footsteps. His wishes were for his daughter to live freely and safely inside the Tsuki district, marry for love and not have any involvement in the ninja world. While Daisuke had no doubt that Yukira would be an excellent Kunoichi, he would never allow it for as long as he lived._

_Though now, at four years old, Yukira was becoming curious. Curious about what was behind the gates that separated the Tsuki District and Konoha, much to Daisuke’s panic. To keep her content, Daisuke would provide or purchase anything to prevent boredom, but it was getting much harder for the girl who never wanted much to begin with. Yukira would ask to come with him whenever he’d head into the Village and pout when he’d deny. Daisuke constantly had to remind himself that it was for her safety._

_Because he would not let Yukira leave the compound, not many knew of her existence, only having heard rumours of the clan head’s second child._

_“Father,” A tug on his kimono shook him from his thoughts, “Can we get a fountain for the garden? Mother and I were just talking about how great it’d look right over there-” The young girl paused to point to a clearing in the middle of the garden._

_“I think that’s a great idea, Angel. But tell me, did your mother put you up to this?” Daisuke sent a smirk over to his wife, who stared back with feigned innocence._

_“I would never!” The woman gasped and pulled Yukira to her body, “Isn’t that right, sweetheart.” Daisuke kept an eye on his wife’s satisfied smirk as he ordered a housekeeper to purchase the nicest fountain available._

_“Daisuke,” someone interrupted, pausing to bow after the man’s annoyed glare, “Lord Hokage is here to see you. He says he has important news.”_

_Daisuke tensed. Automatically assuming the worst._

_The man straightened his posture, the smile he bore just moments before slipping off his face._

**_➤ Tsuki Yukira_ **

_The four-year-old watched as her father’s face lost all traces of kindness._ It’s nothing new, father never displayed his softer side around the other members of the clan. _That thought made Yukira feel special. She was happy that she was one of the few people in the world to see Daisuke’s smile._

_Lord Hokage wouldn’t visit the compound often, though when he would, he would always offer small treats or toys for Yukira._

_Shortly after her father left, Yukira’s mother softly set her down on the blankets and followed him._

_Yukira understood the untold command, ‘wait for us to return’ when her mother looked back at her before turning the corner, but her curiosity won over and she followed silently after them._

_She spotted her mother and father standing at the entrance to the compound with Lord Hokage and two other men, and judging by the masks, they’re from ANBU._

_Quickly, she concealed herself behind a pillar._

_Her older brother, Yukio, was in the ANBU division, one of the strongest, he’d tell her. Yukira looked up to Yukio and wanted to be just like him, and know everything about him. Secretly, and despite her young age, Yukio taught Yukira basic ninja skills, like throwing kunai or how to properly block an attack. Deep down, Yukira felt guilty of going against her father’s wishes, but she couldn’t hold the desire to become a ninja much longer._

_A skill Yukira found that she excelled at was her ability to read and memorize chakra signatures from almost everyone she comes into contact with. Yukio praised her because of that fact, and joking said_ you'd better teach me that when you get older, _while rustling her slick-back hair. Yukira breathed out happily._ Yukio, come home soon. 

_“Daisuke,” The Hokage’s voice called out in greeting._

_Yukira peeked past the pillar and listened to the conversation._

_Lord Hokage was standing with a frown, hands clasped at his front. The ANBU, his company, were standing silently beside him, one wild grey hair and another with short, black hair._

_The grey one, presumably sensing her stare, caught Yukira’s eyes. Though the mask obscured most of the man’s face, she saw a sadness in his dark eyes. That’s when Yukira knew something was terribly wrong._

_"Something has happened". Sarutobi cleared his throat, “I’m regretful to inform you-”_

_The man with the grey hair stopped sarutobi, calling out the leader's name before pointing a finger in Yukira’s direction._

_Lord Hokage shifted to face the young girl, watching as she tilted her head in naiveté. A deeper frown now graced the man’s face. “Daisuke, we’re not alone.”_

_Yukira watched her father turn to face her with eyebrows furrowed in frustration. “Yukira,” The man ordered gruffly. “Go to your room.”_

_Yukira glanced at the people before her with confused eyes, “But, father-”_

_“Yukira! Now!” Daisuke ordered once more, shouting this time._

_She flinched._

_With a growl, Daisuke ordered a housekeeper to take Yukira away from the area._

_The housekeeper struggled to detain her as the young girl thrashed and wiggled to be let out of her hold._

_When finally in her room, Yukira did nothing but sit in the center, tears streaming down her face._ Why was father so harsh, _she wondered._

_“Yukira!” A piercing cry suddenly ripped through the air, voice full of terror. Shaken, Yukira stood and slowly made her way to the door of her bedroom. “Yukira, please!” The voice shouted once again._

_Yukira hardly recognized the voice as her mother’s. It was a tone she had never heard come from the woman’s mouth before._

_“Mother?” Yukira hesitantly called out while sliding open her door with a trembling hand. Fear told her to shut the door as fast as she could and hide, to get as far away as possible. However, she wanted to help. Her mother sounded hurt._ I’ll save her, _Yukira thought._

_As she neared the common room, grunts and hisses of pain could be heard, as well as a gruff, aggressive sneer from an unknown man._

_“Yukira, no! Run!” Her mother cried._

_The young girl ignored her mother’s order and followed her voice._

_Upon reaching the common room, Yukira's face morphed into pure horror at the sight of both her mother and father kneeling bruised and bloodied in the room's center._

_The room itself was in shambles. Furniture was thrown, and the walls were torn. It was almost unrecognizable in Yukira’s eyes._

_“Yukira, darling, please run away now.” Her mother sobbed, tears streaming down her usually smiling face. Yukira watched, a chill running through her spine, as she attempted to walk forward. As she reached the threshold of the room, she was stopped by an invisible barrier that prevented her from entering._

_“Where is she?” The man pacing in front of them shouted suddenly, causing the young girl to flinch._

_Yukira couldn’t see any of the man’s features; it was as if a large shadow was cast on his body, obscuring her view._

_He asked a few more questions similar to the first before stopping in front of her father. “You tell me where she is, or I am going to kill her.” He spat, pointing to Yukira’s mother, who couldn’t seem to control the endless sobs that escaped her mouth._

_Yukira watched with hopeless, teary eyes as her father glanced at her mother for what she didn’t know would be one of the last times. The woman nodded sadly once and, despite the situation, had a small smile on her face._

_Daisuke’s eyes shone with tears, “I will never tell you anything.” He spoke harshly before turning to Yukira’s mother. “I’m so sorry一.”_

_“It’s okay,” her mother dismissed with a smile. “It’s okay, Daisuke. I love you.”_

_Their captive growled angrily and raised his blade._

_“I love一” Yukira’s father began, keeping eye contact with her mother. The young girl watched as the man struck down her mother before Daisuke could finish his sentence. Yukira’s heart broke at the sight. The utter despair shown in her father’s eye would forever be ingrained in her memory. “一...”_

_“Mother!” Yukira spoke for the first time in a cry. The girl felt her heart shatter, a pain so great that she fell to her knees._

_“It wouldn’t have to be like this if you just told me where she is.” The intruder grumbled, seemingly ignoring Yukira’s presence._

_Daisuke shook his head as if he was collecting himself. “Never.” The look in her father’s eyes was so fierce as if all the pain from his wounds had disappeared. Then suddenly, Daisuke shut his eyes, accepting his fate._

_"Why are you so keen on saving her? Do you know what's… You wanna know what? Never mind. I'll find her myself." The intruder groaned in annoyance and raised his blade once more, striking down Yukira’s father. Daisuke's already injured body made this blow be cause of his last breaths._

_Yukira seen a glimpse of her fathers face before the blade hit. His eyes were screwed shut, with the smallest hint of a tear gathering under his light eyelashes. His face was turned to the sky, as if chanting a small prayer._

_“I’m sorry, Yukira.” She heard her father mumble through large intakes of air. “I’m so sorry.”_

_There was a beat before the intruder before her muttered, “Yukira?”_

  
  
  


“Yukira,” someone shook her, “wake up.” 

Yukira blinked awake, the nightmare still fresh on her mind. It was the same dream that she’s had for longer than four years, just after her brother’s death. At first, she had been concerned about the dream, but after it had been dismissed constantly from both Daisuke and her mother, she stopped worrying about it. 

The friendly housekeeper smiles. “Your breakfast is ready.” Yukira nodded towards the woman and pulled herself off of her bed. Almost immediately, the woman got to work making the bed. 

Tiredly, the girl changed out of her nightly wear and into some training attire, shaking the dream from her mind. 

\---

The day proceeded as it usually would. Breakfast was quiet. The training was tedious and strict; however, Yukira felt more distracted than usual, leading her to more disappointed looks than average. 

After dinner, Yukira enjoyed some free time, cuddled up with a novel to escape her reality. 

There wasn’t much time between dinner and Taijutsu training with her father, so Yukira has been reading this particular novel for weeks now. It was a lovely, heartbreaking story about a pirate and his crew. It was one of her favourites so far. Though every time she’d try to read today, her thoughts would drift to the dream she had and what it meant. 

The idea that her parents could someday die hardly ever crossed her mind. It seemed unrealistic. Her father was one of the most powerful men in the Village, and her mother was one of the smartest. _Surely they couldn’t die, right?_

The beginning of the dream seems as if it was pulled directly from her memories. A week after that incident, she found out that the news the Hokage delivered that day was that her brother had died during an ANBU mission. She only found out when she had heard clan members whispering about the funeral that was held in his name the evening prior. Daisuke and her mother failed to mention anything about the whereabouts of her brother when she’d asked, in fact, they avoided her for weeks after that day. Not once did her parents visit to comfort her, or even ask if she’s okay. It’s been years since she’s looked into her father’s eyes or felt the warm embrace of her mother. Since his death, they could hardly even be considered a family. 

Her family resented her, ignored her, abused her. Worst of all, her brother is dead. Her best friend. The person she tells everything to. _Dead._

After his death, Yukira had a hard time coping, especially without help from her parents. All the days that go by are exactly like the last, and she’s having a harder time trying to distinguish them. 

At four-years old, she had fallen into a state of depression so deep that she had cut all ties and isolated herself from her cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. 

Her world was grey. She found it hard to see the beauty of colour once her brother left this world. She found it hard to see the beauty in just about anything, really. 

She _hated_ death. 

She hates that her brother is gone. 

Mostly, she hates that she’s alive. 

Every day, Yukira wishes that her life would’ve been taken by a God of Death instead of her brother’s. She finds herself thinking that maybe if she died instead, her parents would be happier. Perhaps they wouldn’t close up their hearts. Perhaps they’d be more pleased with the “prodigy of the Tsuki clan” rather than Yukira, a simple, useless, insignificant _replacement_. 

Her thoughts carried until she was outside training with her father. 

“Yukira, you’re not even trying anymore.” Daisuke sneered while blocking the young girl’s exhausted kick. “How do you expect to get better if you’re not going to put in any effort.” The man was relentless when training her, always pushing her too far past her limits. Of course _,_ the girl was trying! However, according to Daisuke’s standards, she was no stronger than a mere mouse. 

Daisuke changed when Yukio died, almost as if the man had died himself and was replaced with an emotionally detached clone. Before Yukio’s death, she was “ _My Little Girl”_ or “ _Angel''_ , now Yukira had a hard time imagining such soft words ever coming out of the man’s mouth. 

“I _am_ trying.” Yukira gasped in exhaustion. They’d been at this for hours, and each of Daisuke’s hits was growing harder. 

“Not hard enough,” Daisuke growled out. “Your brother made Genin at your age, and _you_ can hardly manage basic Taijutsu.” 

His words caused Yukira to wince. Her heart clenched at the mention of her late brother's name. It was hardly said aloud anymore, like a taboo. Yukira felt like Daisuke only said his name to crush her, hurt her, weaken her knowing how close they were. Daisuke constantly compared the two and judged Yukira’s skill based on those of her late brothers. Yukio made the Tsuki clan proud, while Yukira disgraced it. Yukira couldn’t blame him for the hate she received from her parents though, it wasn’t his fault and she loved him too much.

“Sorry, father.” Yukira looked to the ground as shame gripped her heart, crushing it. “I promise to not disappoint you anymore.” Though, it seems that’s all she ever did. Disappoint her family, that is. She’ll never be good enough.

Yukira felt the heat of her father’s glare bore onto the top of her head before his large hand gripped her chin tight, forcing her gaze to find his. “You should never show submission in the middle of a battle. Your opponent could easily defeat you if your focus fails.” He scolded with a growl. The older man then let her chin go harshly, causing a jolt of pain through her neck. 

Yukira stepped back to create some distance between her and her father, “understood, sir.” Her words were dead, there was no emotion, though she was feeling many. Sadness, anger, exhaustion. 

“Good.” Daisuke nodded stiffly. “Now. Come at me again. I want you to come at me with the intent of killing me.” The older man stood in a defensive position, awaiting her attack. 

Yukira stood straighter in an attempt to display faux confidence. She lunged forwards with her kunai drawn and with quick hand movements, she formed Shadow clone jutsu as a distraction. The jutsu was Jōnin level and taught to her from her brother years ago, she was very proud of it. 

The pair split onto opposite sides of Daisuke, approaching him faster than she believes she ever has. Though of course, Daisuke was prepared. 

The man blocked the kick aimed at his side and pushed Yukira’s clone away. The clone landed on its feet and charged at Daisuke once more, this time to assist Yukira as she found an opening. Yukira paused a moment to breathe before activating one of their family’s Kekkei Genkai, a metal release technique that took her non-stop training for four months to master. It was a chakra nature special to the Tsuki clan that allowed users to manipulate any type of metal to fit their use. Yukira swiftly used the jutsu that created kunai and launched them at her father. Knowing that the man would block the kunai, she quickly crafted a long blade and swung at her father. Suddenly, a scene from the nightmare flashed in her mind causing her to freeze. 

Just as she thought, Daisuke blocked the kunai and shook off the clone, dispelling it, before knocking the blade out of Yukira’s hand, forming a few hand signs and catching her by the throat. 

Yukira’s eyes widened as she recognised that the man was using a Fūinjutsu technique and flinched. It was a seal that Yukira hadn’t studied yet, and she was afraid. 

The man shifted, no longer holding her up in the air but slamming her onto the ground. Yukira whimpered, feeling winded as Daisuke’s hand tightened slightly around her neck. 

The man’s eyes were a bright, shining magenta. He had fury in his eyes causing Yukira to freeze in fear. She’s never been more scared of the man than she was now. The young girl whimpered and Daisuke’s hand tightened once more. The noise seemed to shake Daisuke out of his stupor as his eyes dimmed back into the normal grey and he stepped back. 

Daisuke barely gave Yukira time to stand, “Again.” The older man spoke, his voice riddled with annoyance. 

\---------

Daisuke has Yukira in a schedule. Every morning, she wakes her up early for an endurance run around their large compound.

After breakfast, which was prepared by her mother, she’d practice jutsus with her father all morning. Her father was very proficient in ninjutsu and never went easy on her. Yukira learnt to dodge fast to evade his attacks. He’d teach her the jutsus he's demonstrated and wouldn’t move on until Yukira got it perfect. Daisuke was skilled in all of the 5 basic chakra natures, and was currently training Yukira to be able to do the same. 

However, sometimes during that time, Daisuke would have her study things that Yukira thought was useless information, like the five nations or history books on the leaf. 

Her mother taught her chakra control after lunch. She was amazing at it and was very strict with Yukira. She taught her how to limit and conserve her chakra as well as concentrating it to certain parts of her body, like her feet or hands. Fortunately, Yukira got the gene from her mother that allows her to sense chakra at her own discretion. _A sensor-type,_ her mother told her, _hard to master. I will help you._ As promised, the woman taught Yukira to knead her chakra and change it to “sensory mode”. Due to this training, Yukira is now able to sense chakra from more than 100 kilometers away at will, surpassing her mother’s own skill. 

In the evening and after Yukira’s free time, Daisuke takes Yukira out to their courtyard to train using Taijutsu (Yukira hates that time of day). 

However, once a week, the schedule changes. 

**July 21, Yukira is eight years old**

The next day, Yukira was sitting alone in her bedroom after dinner when Daisuke appeared at the doorway. “Get ready, we’re going to the Uchiha’s.” He shortly announced before promptly turning to leave. 

“Yes, father.” Yukira agreed without complaint just as he exited her room. Years of discipline shaped Yukira to be compliant, too afraid to step out of line. Daisuke was the one teaching her etiquette skills. Stuff like respecting elders, and listening to adults. 

When she was younger, Daisuke wouldn’t let her out of the compound. Nowadays, she is only allowed to leave when they’re going to the Uchiha’s, or if she has direct permission from Daisuke. 

After he was far enough away, Yukira pulled herself to stand. A muffled cry of pain escaped her lips before she could contain it. Her eyes widened and her head snapped to the doorway to make sure no one heard. _A ninja should never show weakness,_ her father growled in her head. Training the night before was tough. Daisuke pushed her way past her limits. She woke up sore all over and noticed a bruise had formed on the base of her neck. She was exhausted. 

Yukira walked over to her wardrobe and changed out of her training attire. She couldn’t help but glance at the mirror resting beside her wardrobe, then staring at her battered body. Bruises discoloured the girls unusually pale skin while cuts from her father's kunai littered her body. Tears gathered in her eyes as she looked at her reflection. Something shifted in the mirror. It was Yukira… Only, this Yukira was smiling in the arms of her brother, bundled in warm clothes with the orange, flickering glow of a fire in front of them. She was older here, a teenager, and had teary, tired eyes, but a smile nonetheless. When Yukira blinked, the reflection was gone, replaced by the broken soul she is now. The young girl shook her head and got dressed, making sure to hide most of the bruises with a concealing shirt. 

Yukira walked out of her bedroom and through the cold halls of the Tsuki clan head’s house. When her father came into view, she bowed to show respect and walked up to him. The man glanced down at her and narrowed his eyes. 

When he turned to fully face her, Yukira froze. Her mother was also in the room, watching with wary eyes, though not confident enough to intervene. Daisuke moved his hands to her collar, causing the young girl to flinch. His eyes widened while an unreadable emotion appeared in the man’s steel grey eyes, which was gone less than a moment later. Daisuke cleared his throat and straightened her collar. Yukira caught the exact moment Daisuke laid his eyes on her bruise. 

“Right.” He said gruffly, turning away from her. “Let’s go.” 

Daisuke had begun taking Yukira to the Uchiha’s six months after Yukio’s funeral with no explanation why. The Uchiha district was far from the Tsuki district. Both clans were opposite of each other on the edges of town, seemingly surrounding Konoha. Yukira knew not to question why exactly her father met up with Fugaku on a weekly basis, he’d made it clear that it was none of her business. She was curious as to why she had to attend these travels just to be excluded from any type of conversation between the men. 

The walk was quiet, like it always is. Daisuke never actually spoke to Yukira anymore unless completely necessary. Not since the death of her brother.

After her first appearance in the Village four years ago with Daisuke, all the rumours were confirmed. Daisuke had a second child, one that he had hidden from the rest of the world. News spread quickly, and many came to greet the pair. It was overwhelming. 

As they were walking through Konoha, as usual many Villagers came up to them with kind smiles and small gifts for Yukira.

The Tsuki clan was well respected in the Hidden Leaf. The clan was full of talented ninja of all rankings and occupations. The village nearly treated them as if royalty, though that was most likely influenced by their wealth, something that annoyed Yukira to no end. 

Yukira hated the praise the man received. Daisuke put on a show for the Villagers, stopping to talk to them, shaking their hands; the man even went as far as to wear a smile. Yukira watched him with concealed disdain. As some of the Villagers slid their attention onto Yukira, she made sure to keep a smile on as she accepted the small fruits and small trinkets being offered to her. _If they knew of the abuse, would they stop praising Daisuke?_

“Ah!” A man approached with a large grin stretched on his face. “Yukira, my dear! You sure have grown up! I remember when you were this tall,” He laughed as he bent down and held his hand a couple feet off the ground. “How old are you now?” 

“Eight, sir.” Kukira told him politely. She doesn’t remember seeing this man a day in her life. 

“Eight! Wow! I remember when your brother made Genin at that age. Say, are you in the academy yet?” Yukira’s mood immediately dampened. 

“No, sir. Not yet.” She told the man.

“Nee, Daisuke-san, why isn’t she in the academy? She’d do great and follow in her brother’s footsteps.” 

“She isn’t ready.” Daisuke replied shortly. “We really must be going.” Daisuke looked to Yukira and gestured with a nod of his head to continue walking and she did so without another word. Most of the children her age were already enrolled three years ago, all except for Yukira. 

“Father?” Yukira said after she gathered enough courage. 

He said nothing but glanced at her questioningly. 

“Do you know that man?” 

“He is a civilian elder in the Village. Goro.” 

“Oh.” 

When they reached the Uchiha district, they were greeted by Uchiha Mikoto with a smile. 

“Daisuke, Yukira, Welcome.” Mikoto smiled. Yukira liked Mikoto, she was nice. “Daisuke, Fugaku said to meet him in the courtyard. Yukira, Sasuke was glad that you were coming by. I think he’s in his room with his brother.” Mikoto grinned as she went back to her gardening. 

Yukira knew that Mikoto only wanted her to befriend Sasuke because they were the same age and Sasuke was quite the loner, only clinging to his older brother. Yukira recalls a conversation she overheard from her father and Mr. Uchiha about the prospect of the children getting married for a powerful offspring. Though, Daisuke thought it’d be best if they kept the Tsuki genetics pure. Yukira didn’t know how she felt about that. 

Yukira had known Sasuke for four years now. Sasuke was naive and childish. He didn’t know the feeling of loss, much less pain. 

Yukira knew the distaste she harboured was jealousy of the boy and his family, though she hated to admit it. Sasuke has Itachi and a loving mother like Mikoto. Sasuke was in the Academy, while Yukira spent time alone or training. Sasuke was lucky, and Yukira resented him for it. 

The white-haired girl made her way in the direction of Sasuke’s room with a grumble. She doesn’t understand the strange fascination the young Uchiha has with her, the visceral need to be her friend. The boy would always seek her out and ask her to play, or to train together. Sure all that seemed innocent, but there was something weird about how their friendship was forced. Yukira never really put effort in entertaining Sasuke’s advances, but that never deterred the boy. 

Yukira gently knocked on the door before sliding it open. Sasuke’s room was neat, as usual, with minimal decor. 

The younger Uchiha looked up upon her arrival and a large grin flashed across his features. “Yukira!” He stood quickly. 

The older Uchiha boy was behind him, still sitting on the Sasuke's bed. Yukira knows him as Uchiha Itachi, ANBU captain. She doesn't know much more than that. Whenever she'd visit the Uchiha district, Itachi's presence was limited, if there at all. It’s been a while since she’s seen him now, she suspects he’s been busy. Yukira didn’t think much about Itachi. She knew he loves his brother, but that’s pretty much it. 

“Hello, Sasuke.” Yukira greeted him with a small, fake smile. The boy wouldn’t know the difference. 

“Itachi and I were about to head out to train to get me ready for the Academy tomorrow. Would you like to come?” Sasuke asked enthusiastically. Itachi moved until he was behind Sasuke facing Yukira with a scrutinizing gaze. 

Yukira shifted on her feet at his intense stare, feeling uncomfortable. Itachi was handsome, she'd admit. The thirteen year old had dark hair and eyes much like his younger brother except, there were long stress lines connected to the inner corners of his eyes. Yukira wonders if this is what Sasuke will look like when he's older. 

“Sure,” Yukira agreed with a small nod, ignoring Itachi. 

“Great!” Sasuke cheered. “Beat you outside!” He yelled and raced out of the room without giving her a chance to reply. She turned on her heel to leave the room but a hand gripped her forearm, halting her movements. She couldn’t muffle the wince at his grip. 

She shook it off before turning to Itachi with a questioning look. 

“What’s wrong with your arm?” Itachi asked. “And your face? You have scratches and I can see a bruise… Just right there.” Itachi pointed to where the bruise on her neck was一 well, she thought the bruise had been obscured from view. “What happened, Yukira?” The intense gaze caused her to look away for a moment. Then, she remembered her father’s words. She returned his gaze with the same amount of intensity. 

Yukira didn’t respond, only pulled her arm from his grip and walked out of the door. 

She’d ignored Itachi’s eyes for the rest of the day. They trained, Sasuke tried to show off, Yukira showed her skills, Sasuke got jealous, and then Yukira went home. 

  
  
  


**July 22,**

The next day of training with her father had been exceptionally tough. He was relentless, leaving Yukira with more bruises and sore limbs. Fortunately, they finished early and Yukira got permission to walk around the Village. As she recalled the days training session with Daisuke, she felt curiosity at the strange way her father was acting as he dismissed her. During training, Yukira had finally managed to land a hit on Daisuke, much to both of their surprise. Almost immediately after, He’d called off their training and walked off. She was ecstatic, she felt powerful. 

She was perched on a random roof staring at the gates leading out of the Village into the open forest. Freedom. She briefly thought of leaving, walking further and further away from the Village where she doesn’t feel welcome. Yukira figured she wouldn’t last out there though. _Best to stay here than face the harsh unknowns of out there._

With a sigh, she turned away and headed in the direction of the Academy. It was late and dark out, the academy would be long closed by now. She spotted a swing hanging from a tree and walked towards it and sat down, rocking herself gently as she cast a longing look towards the school. Daisuke must be punishing her somehow. Why else wouldn’t he let her join? She may not be as good as her brother, but she was definitely more skilled than Sasuke, and Itachi complimented her on her Taijutsu, the very thing that Daisuke critiqued most harshly. 

She slid off the swing and walked off without heading in any particular direction. 

She ended up on a cliff, looking over the Village. Street lights lit the streets making Konoha look almost… beautiful. She sat down, tired and sore from today’s training, with her gaze still overlooking the Village. Yukira’s exhaustion won over and her eyes drifted shut. 

\---

“Hey…” someone was shaking her, “Hey, Yukira. Wake up.” 

She groaned, annoyed that someone was disturbing her slumber.

“Yukira! Wake up!” The person shook her harder. She didn’t recognise the voice and a panic took over. 

She opened her eyes and shot up to look at the person waking her up. The man wore the uniform navy blue bandanna tied in the front with a senbon needle hanging out of his mouth. 

“Yukira, I’m going to have to ask you to come with me.” The man helped her stand, “My name's Genma, I’m going to take you to Lord Hokage. Is that alright?” 

“Genma?” Yukira asked as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “Why are we going to the Hokage?” She yawned. She noted that the skies were still dark, telling her not much time had passed. _I best head back home,_ her sleep riddled mind spoke, _or Father will be mad._

“He’ll explain everything to you when we get there.” Genma guided the half-conscious girl towards the Hokage tower. 

When they’d arrived, Yukira was more awake and slightly anxious. Why does the Hokage want to talk to her? Why can’t she go home? They walked up the tower to the direction of the Hokage’s office and Genma knocked before entering. 

When they’d entered, The Hokage was talking with two men, both wearing masks that tied them to ANBU. One had grey hair, sticking up in a bunch of different directions一 _Familiar_ 一, while the other had long brown hair, spikey at the top. They watched Yukira but she couldn’t tell what they were thinking under their masks. The Hokage looked towards the men one last time and gestered them off with a flick of his hand. They left swiftly without another word; however, before the grey haired one left, he cast one last look towards Yukira. 

“I found her sleeping near the forest on the east side, sir.” Genma reported. 

“Thank you, Shiranui, you may go.” Lord Third nodded to the man. And he did, leaving Yukira alone with the Hokage. 

“Yukira,” the Hokage spoke with a practiced ease, “something has happened.” 

Sarutobi Hiruzen watched the girl for a moment, unsure of how he should deliver the news. Tsuki Yukira was disheveled, most likely from sleeping outside, and was still wearing training clothes. Her long, white hair was tied back with few strands framing her face. Sarutobi, while studying her face, noticed a few cuts and bruises littered across her pale complexion. Her eyes especially caught his attention. They were almost lifeless, with dark circles that looked years old. _Why does she look so rugged?_ Sarutobi thought to himself. _She's not even a ninja-in-training._

“Before we begin, I wish to ask you a few questions.” He spoke. “Why were you found sleeping outside rather than in your home? You weren't running from something were you?" 

The girl stared for a moment, confused. “I was… I accidentally fell asleep. I was going to go home…” Yukira remembers a conversation she had with her father a couple years ago. 

_"If anyone asks you anything about what goes on in this house, you tell them nothing." Daisuke spoke strictly while pacing in front of a 5-year-old Yukira. "Nothing. Do you understand?"_

_Yukira trembled, "Y-yes, sir."_

"There's nothing for me to run away from." 

The Hokage paused, his intuition telling him the girl really had no idea of the events that transpired moments ago. “I need to tell you something. I am afraid something has happened to your clan.”

The look on the girls face shifted to one of suspicion. 

After Yukira heard those words, she paused. _Something happened to my clan?_ Yukira shifted her chakra to sensory mode and let out a breath. The girl's eyes began water as she realized the old man was right. She didn’t sense anyone’s chakra. Not her mothers, fathers or even her cousins. Yukira’s eyes snapped back to the Hokage’s. “What happened.” She asked, finally speaking up. Her voice was shaky though she tried so hard to keep it straight. 

_The dream…_

“They’ve been murdered,” He started, unable to think of a better way to phrase it, “and Uchiha Itachi is missing.” 

_Was… true?_

Yukira’s world stopped. _Murdered?_

“Uchiha Itachi?” She questioned, careful to keep the shake from her voice. “What about Sasuke? How is he? Where is he?” 

“The Uchiha family had unfortunately fallen as well. Sasuke however, is okay and is being questioned at the moment.” He didn’t know why he was telling her this, something about her grey eyes compelled him to tell her the truth. 

“He’s okay? Can I see him?” She asked, longing to comfort the boy. 

Yukira never truly liked Sasuke, yes, however they need each other right now. 

“No. I’m sorry. Not until after we find out what he witnessed.” He spoke before clearing his throat. “I must suggest an adult staying with you, you are far too young to take care of yourself in the Tsuki district.”

Just then a knock sounded at the door. 

“Come in,” The hokage said gruffly, annoyance clear in his voice. 

Another ninja walked in a moment later, one Yukira couldn’t recognize. He bowed before speaking, “Lord Hokage, Nakamura Goro was found dead in an alleyway during the search for the little girl.” 

Yukira didn’t remember much of the conversation after that point. Everything felt like a blur. The Hokage had set her up in an Inn for the meantime. He had said that they needed to “fix up” the residence and organize for someone to care for Yukira. 

She cried when she was finally alone. Though, even at age eight, she knew she was alone much longer. She wept for her mother, her cousins, her grandparents and lastly, her father. Her thoughts traveled to Itachi. _Why had he done it? Why did he slaughter everyone? How were they connected? How was Sasuke? Would he have killed her too if she were at the Tsuki District?_

_Her dream…_

Yukira’s spirit crumbled. She felt as if it was ripped away from her. Painfully. She had no one. 

Yukira hadn’t slept a wink that night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask :)


	2. Chapter 2: I Want to Attend the Academy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Months following the incident

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited September 12, 2020 (complete)

**July 29, Yukira is 8 years old.**

The week following the massacre was quiet. Yukira was left alone to her thoughts for the most part because no one really knew how to approach her. When visitors did come by, she wouldn’t speak, only stared out the only window of her temporary room. 

It wasn’t until the eighth day after the massacre that someone came by to bring her to her house. The woman introduced herself as Naho and said that she’ll be watching over Yukira for the time being. 

The name did sound familiar. When she met with the Lord Third a few days prior, he had mentioned that someone had agreed to be the guardian for Yukira, and all they had to do was prepare the house for their arrival. 

Naho was a short, thin woman with greying hair and a wrinkled smile. She spoke softly with Yukira and helped her pack what little belongings she had in the Inn before they left. 

Arriving at the front gates of the Tsuki clan district after the walk back with Naho left Yukira feeling anxious. She didn’t sense anyone in the vicinity, proving the nightmare she was experiencing was in fact reality. 

The compound usually held a little less than 30 members despite its large size, and was split into sections. The main and largest section belonged to the clan head and their family, Yukira’s family. Four other sections were reserved for the other branch members, including her cousins, aunts and uncles. All the sections were connected in the middle by a large garden. A thing most of the women used to pride themselves for are their gardening skills. It was still beautiful, full with Sakura trees and flowered shrubs with long stones paving routes. In the center of it all was a fountain, a beautiful fountain that brought back ugly memories. For some reason, Yukira expected the garden to be dull and lifeless, mourning the loss of its caretakers. A little further towards the back of the perimeter was the training field where Daisuke used to take Yukira. 

Other than the residential area, the Tsuki District held clan member’s shops and food stops, making their owned land much larger. The only thing separating this area from the residential area being a daunting stone wall with the clan crest mounted above the entrance signaling the Tsuki Clan Compound. 

“Yukira?” Naho called out, tearing her from her thoughts. 

Yukira hadn’t known that she stopped to stare, plagued by her memories. She breathed out shakily and continued through the compound to her estate. 

The first thing she noticed was how quiet and empty it was. The usually bustling courtyard was still. There were no children playing, or mothers tending the garden, or fathers training their young. 

The thing is, after Yukio’s death, it seemed only her family was stuck in the mourning stage. Everyone else moved on after a while, which was understandable, and continued their lives. Relatives who came in an attempt to console their family gave up after a while, leaving the clan head to their demons. 

Yukira’s heart rate picked up as they reached the house. It looked the same, but felt completely different. 

When they walked inside, she had to remind herself to breathe. No evidence of the incident was left in the house; Furniture was still in place, houseplants still a vibrant green despite nobody watering them for awhile and the small trinkets her mother kept still safe in its rightful area. Though, the walls were different and the carpets were gone. 

“Yukira? Are you alright, dear?” Naho came into view, her soft brown eyes shining in concern. 

The snowy-haired girl didn't reply but briskly walked in the direction of her bedroom, barely holding herself together. 

Her bedroom is large and spacious, nearly empty except for a futon, a desk and a wardrobe. When she looked closer, things were missing. Her mirror is gone, alone with a few of the books she had on her desk. Things were rearranged, her bed being exactly opposite to where it was before. 

Her hands shook and tears strolled down her face. _What I had before was better than this…_ Yukira thought. 

She slid the door shut behind her and walked further into the room. She felt sick knowing that if she were there that night, she might not be alive right now. _Maybe it would have been better that way,_ a part of her thought, _you would be with Yukio again._

  
  
  


**August 30, Yukira is eight years old**

It’s been a month since Yukira had come face to face with Naho. 

Naho would prepare meals and leave them at her door before coming back to fetch the plate, which were sometimes empty or sometimes full. 

Naho respected the girl’s privacy, only speaking to her to ask if she needed anything. Yukira would never respond, but appreciated the woman’s efforts.

Today, Naho was going to the markets. The old woman knocked on the door three times like always, “Yukira, I’m going to get some groceries, is there anything specific you’d like?” 

Despite Yukira not speaking to her for over a month, Naho never gave up on her. She would always speak patiently with her. Yukira simply wasn’t used to this type of treatment. 

“No, thank you.” Yukira replied softly. She heard the woman gasp slightly, never having heard Yukira’s voice before. It could be described as soft, shy in a way, and mellow with a slight rasp from lack of use. 

“O-Okay,” The older woman stuttered, “I’ll be home soon.” 

Naho called it home, which was the last thing Yukira would think to call it. Home is a thing where you feel welcome and loved, Yukira couldn’t even sleep in this house without getting nightmares and memories repeating over and over in her mind until it drove her to tears. 

Minutes later, when Naho had fully left the compound, Yukira escaped her room. 

It’s not the first time she’s done this, leave her room that is, for reasons other than using the restroom. It was however, the first time she approached the room at the end of the hall. 

The door was a heavy, impenetrable metal with seals lining the edges forbidding anyone other than members with Tsuki blood running through their veins. 

She has avoided this room ever since re-entering the building, too scared. During her younger years, her father strictly forbade her from even coming close to this room, but now, curiosity won out and she approached the door slowly, half expecting Daisuke to jump out from the shadows and punish her. 

When she reached the door, she laid a hand on the metal. It glowed for a moment, before propping open. 

The room was dense, every corner darkened with shadows. There was a single naked lightbulb hanging from the ceiling in the center of the room with filing cabinets lining the wall, all wearing a blanket of dust that coated the surface. 

“Woah…” 

This room contained all information regarding the Tsuki clan, including their special jutsus, seals and sensory abilities. There was even a whole section dedicated to specific members of the clan. Needless to say, this room wasn’t to be infiltrated. 

Yukira sighed deeply in an attempt to calm herself. She walked up to one of the cabinets and pulled it open to see its contents. Inside were files labeled ‘ _seals’._

Her family was full of seal masters. Yukira was taught at a young age that seals could be very useful and powerful. Her father often demonstrated some uses for seals, how to make them and how to safely deactivate them.

Yukira closed that drawer for now and continued searching through the room. 

After an hour of going through files and scrolls, Yukira found something worth looking into. 

**_The Yamigan, or jigokugan,_ **the scroll read. 

**_Is a powerful visual prowess from unknown origins with abilities that make the user stronger, faster, smarter._ **

**_This Dōjutsu allows users to enhance their chakra manipulation, increasing the effectiveness of jutsus as well as other untested, unknown abilities. When activated, wielders can see all movement in their mind's eye (without any ties to sensory-mode). It has similar traits to the Uchiha’s “Sharingan”; however, it was proved to surpass even the strongest Uchiha. The trait is rare among the clan, only activating in male members of the main branch family and once in a generation._ **

**_A common occurrence reveals that this Kekkei Genkai triggers the optic nerves in the eye and releases a special type of chakra which transforms eyes into the Yamigan, or Jigokugan when the wielder feels a strong emotional urge to protect themselves or others._**

**_The Yamigan seems to be a mystery, even to its users._ **

The information was vague and kind of disappointing to Yukira. _Only in the male gender?_

A different scroll had a list of nine logs of Shinobi in her clan that had activated the Yamigan. The earliest record was from a man named Tsuki Gou. The man had no recorded mother while his father fell ill a few years after his birth. He had discovered the Yamigan at age 37 while protecting his pregnant wife and son against enemy Shinobi. He died 2 years later of illness and reported he was losing his sight. The latest log was her fathers. Tsuki Daisuke. He activated the Yamigan at age 25 during the Second Shinobi war, Yukio being one year old at the time. Daisuke was recorded to also be losing his sight on the day of Yukira’s birth, June 27th. 

_Why do they lose their eyesights? Every single log had recorded that the men lost their eyesights. Was it that the power was too great for them to handle? What's so mysterious about it?_ Yukira had a million questions that she knew she was never going to get an answer for. 

Her father’s log wasn’t very long compared to the others. Daisuke’s distinctive messy scrawl was familiar, mostly because it looked like her own, and it was the last log so it wasn’t hard to locate.

The log before Daisuke’s was presumably his fathers. His name was Tsuki Daichi and in his log he wrote Tsuki Daisuke being born 47 years ago. The man himself lived on until 24 years after that until he died from an incurable illness. When compared to older logs, this man seemed to be the closest to fully developing the Yamigan, having written more logs about abilities he was able to hone using the eye. 

As Yukira was reading through the logs, one in particular caused her to freeze. 

After the log of her birth was the death of her brother. 

**_Oct 10th: Yukio dead. End of Yamigan._ **

The paper was wrinkled in areas damaged by water. Tears. Daisuke was crying. Not once had Yukira seen the man cry. Not when he was hurt, not when a comrade fell in battle and certainly not at her brother's funeral. Surely, Yukira would have noticed the most emotionless man she knew crying . 

Yukira let the scroll fall into her lab as she let out a deep, shaky breath until she felt ready to continue. 

There was something else. Something vague and unfinished. It was dated the day of the massacre. 

**_July 22th: Yukira has th-_ **

It was cut off with a line of ink stratched across the page and Yukira cringed as she realised why. 

Yukira decided that that was it, she has read enough. She set down the scroll and left the room. 

  
  
  


**November 15th, Yukira is eight years old**

Months pass and Yukira has opened up enough to agree to be homeschooled by Naho through the Academy. Yukira herself didn’t feel ready to attend fully and felt this was a good start. Slowly but surely, Yukira began to appreciate Naho more and actually offered to help her with chores around the house rather than hide in her room. 

Though everything seems to be going well, Yukira’s sleep schedule had grown worse. She can’t sleep without waking up scared in the middle of the night from a nightmare. 

Her training had grown more vigorous. Yukira spends most of her time attempting to maintain the schedule her father had ingrained, making her very stern in regards to time management. Less severe than obsessive compulsive disorder, however she does get a little anxious when she isn’t on time to do a task. One of the setbacks to this mindset was that Yukira _despised_ it when people were late or when she’s less than productive.

Living with Naho has calmed her down a bit, the woman’s calming nature having a large part in that feat. With her, Yukira feels more relaxed and less stressed about her schedule. Naho takes everything slow with her, and while Yukira would usually get frustrated, she instead calmly helps Naho with whatever task needs to be completed. 

Right now, Yukira was walking through the village while avoiding as many eyes as she could. 

It took a lot for her to finally convince herself to leave her compound. Today, she was planning on visiting her clan’s memorial site in the cemetery that was put up days after the funeral five months ago and the stares she’s receiving from the villagers isn’t making this trip any easier. 

Everyone knew of the Tsuki and Uchiha clan massacre, and while the life of Uchiha Sasuke had been confirmed, Yukira’s hasn’t and many thought she had fallen on that day as well. 

The last time some of the villagers had seen Yukira, she was sickly pale and thin, walking in the shadows of her father. Now, while she was still pale, she looked healthier despite the bags under her eyes. Her snowy hair flowed down to mid thigh, straight and shining. She was dressed in a dark navy blue shirt that hid most of her skin from the neck down til her hips and a pair of lavender loose fitting pants.

Yukira ignored the whispers and continued on until she walked past a flower shop. _Should I get them flowers?_ Thought Yukira, nervously. Deciding _yes, you should,_ Yukira walked into the quaint shop and began looking around. 

“Hello?” A deep voice called, “Can I help you?” A man then walked into Yukira’s view. _Yamanaka Inoichi,_ her mind supplied. He was one of the men that spoke to her after the massacre. 

Yukira’s breath got caught in her throat, was she in trouble? She knows this man is a part of the interrogation unit for Konohagakure. He was one of the people trying to get information out of her concerning the massacre five months ago, and when he couldn’t, they called on Morino Ibiki who had Yukira spewing all the little information she knew because she was so afraid of the man with the scarred face. 

“Did you need some flowers?” Inoichi spoke once again, softer this time. 

Yukira shook her head, completely forgetting the reason she was in the shop. _Flowers, right!_ “Yes please, Yamanaka-san.” Yukira said so quietly Inoichi had to strain his ears to hear. 

He was surprised she had remembered him. That week was traumatizing for the girl, Inoichi couldn’t even begin to imagine. Her being here meant one thing. “Well, look around and tell me if you need anything.” He smiled gently. 

As he began to turn around, the young girl spoke once more. 

“I’m looking for lillies.” 

Inoichi paused. _I was right,_ he thought. _Lilies, symbolises a rejuvenation of the soul. They can represent purity, commitment and rebirth. Must be for her parents grave._

The man with the ashy blond hair nodded to her before turning to fetch the flowers she requested. 

Yukira stood awkwardly, waiting until the man returned. When he did, Yukira was in awe. The flowers were beautiful. Six pure white petals surrounded the stamen, glowing brightly in the sunlight.

When Inoichi gestered the flowers into her arms, Yukira couldn’t help the small smile that took over her lips. “How much?” She asked. 

“No charge.” 

Yukira’s gaze snapped back to the Jōnin’s. “No charge? I can pay you. Please, let me pay you.” 

“Don’t worry about it.” The man smiled down at her. “Consider it my gift to you.” 

Yukira was used to special treatment almost all her life. She didn’t appreciate it. She doesn’t like when people treat her differently, especially if it’s out of pity. 

When the man insisted again, Yukira complied, walking out of the shop. 

_Yamanaka Flowers,_ the sign read. 

Yukira, still not comfortable with the fact that she didn’t pay for the flowers, took out a sum of money and slid it into the mail slot. 

The rest of the journey to the cemetery was relatively quiet. Villagers bustled, kids played and shopkeepers haggled. Yukira simply kept her eyes straight, ignoring everything around her until she made it to her destination. 

The Tsuki Memorial Site was a large stone, similar to the Konohagakure Memorial stone, with all the fallen members' names carved into its face. 

Upon approaching, Yukira’s mind went blank. She didn’t know what she was supposed to say. The people who made her feel unwanted and weak had done nothing but emotionally renounce her, yet she’s here mourning them. 

Yukira kneeled in front of the stone while keeping the flowers firmly gripped in her hands. 

After a few minutes of silence, she finally spoke. “I just… don’t understand.” She started wiping the tears that gathered in her eyes. “Why did you treat me the way you did? I was a child. I was four years old! I was hurting too!” She cried. “He was my brother. When I needed you, you turned your back on me, leaving me to deal with the heartache on my own.”

After calming down, Yukira sighed sadly. “I wish you would’ve told me what I could do to have you love me again.” 

Yukira was speaking to one person at that moment. Her father. The man that made Yukira feel like life wasn’t worth living. “I wanted my father back…” She whispered, feeling a throbbing pain deep inside her chest. 

Yukira stood then, leaving the flowers at the graves but not before she plucked one from the batch, and made her way in the direction of the Memorial Stone

The Memorial stone is full of names of Shinobi and Kunoichi who had lost their lives in battle. Among the names is Tsuki Yukio. 

Her brother was 19 when he died on a mission. Yukio was a good brother, making time for Yukira when she wanted to play (unless he was due for a mission) and treated her like a princess. Yukio inherited the distinctive male genetics giving him long, snow white hair and pale skin. He had an angular face and narrow, slanted eyes with a long scar that ran along the length of his jaw. He was handsome and smart so nearly all the girls were obsessed with him. He graduated out of the Academy early, making Genin around age five, then Chūnin less than a year after that. He was considered a prodigy among Konohagakure ninja, so loveable and so kind. 

Setting the flower down onto the grave, Yukira allowed herself to fall into the memories of her and her brother. 

Some time had passed, it was now later in the evening and Yukira had finally stood up. She set the single flower down and glanced at the stone once more. 

**_Tsuki Yukio_ **

Taking a deep breath, she turned away from the grave and made her way to the Tsuki district.

  
  
  
  


**November 23, Yukira is eight years old**

It was a week after that when Yukira had decided to visit Sasuke. 

Her mind had been preoccupied for months and she completely forgot about the Uchiha. 

When she reached the gateway into the Uchiha district, she felt apprehension. _Would Sasuke even want to see me? Was he even home? It was a weekend, so Sasuke shouldn’t be in school right now._

Before she could either turn away or walk further, Sasuke’s familiar voice called out to her. 

“Yukira?” He was watching her with a confused look in his eyes. Without her realizing, Sasuke had walked out of his house and into her field of vision.

“Sasuke,” Yukira breathed out heavily as she felt weight fall off of her shoulders at the sight of him. 

It’s been months since she’s seen him and he looks much older, more mature without that bright smile she was used to. 

“Can I… come in?” She asked hesitantly. 

That night, Yukira and Sasuke (mostly Yukira) spoke all night about everything, but nothing at all. After they were finished, it was past midnight, but both children didn’t mind. They both felt closer than they ever were and when it was time for Yukira to leave, she almost didn’t want to. But she did, promising to come visit him again soon. 

  
  
  


**December 30, Yukira is eight years old**

Visiting Sasuke eventually became a daily activity. Everyday, either after homeschooling or her training, Yukira would skip over to Sasuke’s house to spend the rest of the day with him. 

Sasuke wouldn’t open up much about the massacre, but Yukira had caught that he was furious with his brother and wished to get revenge. 

_“Sasuke…” Yukira started, watching the boy with a sympathetic gaze. “Revenge will only bring more hate and sorrow. It’s a continuous cycle of hurt and I care about you far too much to see something like that happen. Please, just forget about it. I’m here for you. I will always be here for you.”_

_Yukira hugged him tight then, and for the first time in a while, Sasuke felt like he was a part of a family again._

Today, Yukira walked into _Yamanaka Flowers_ to order more white lilies. 

When she walked into the shop, she came face to face with a pretty, pale blond with teal eyes. The girl was rearranging flowers close to the entrance of the shop and Yukira almost bumped her when she opened the door. 

“Woah!” The girl cried before her gaze snapped to Yukira’s. A flash of recognition appeared in her eyes as she realised who she was speaking to. 

“I’m sorry,” Yukira apologized, giving a small bow, “I’m looking for Inoichi-san.” 

Just then, the man walked out from a corner and smiled warmly at Yukira. “Yukira, welcome back. Lilies?” 

“Yes, please.” 

Once Inoichi left to fetch the flowers, the pale blond turned to her once more. 

“Yukira?” The girl asked while setting aside her tools. 

Ino had heard a lot about this girl. She was a part of one of the most honourable clans in Konoha, respected by a lot of people including her father. Ino doesn’t know much about the girl, but she knew that her family and Sasuke’s were close. _I’m so jealous,_ she thought sourly. 

Yukira looked at the girl in shock, wondering how the girl knew who she was before a soft smile appeared on her face. She bowed slightly before speaking, “Hello, you must be the daughter of Yamanaka-san.My name is Yukira. ” She introduced herself even though Ino said her name earlier. 

Ino smiled at her, _she seems nice._ “My name is Ino.” **** She returned the bow. 

“Hm, nice to meet you Ino.” 

Yukira, Ino realised, was beautiful. Her skin was pale, _paler than Sasuke’s,_ and her hair was white, not blond like Ino’s. Her face still held baby fat, much like her own, but Ino could tell that Yukira would have a slim, pointed face in the future. Same goes for her eyes. They were a light, captivising grey. They were large and childlike now, but were going to be narrower in the future. 

“Ino,” Her father cut in, “I see you’ve met Yukira.” The man smiled . He walked in with white lilies and Ino’s mind supplied that those flowers were commonly purchased for funerals and such. _She’s buying flowers for her parents grave._

Yukira looked at Ino, blushing awkwardly as she accepted the flowers from her father. _She’s embarrassed._

“Thank you, Inoichi-san.” Yukira bowed and handed the man the correct amount. She turned to Ino before she left. “Good-bye, Ino.” 

Yukira was the type of person to appear mean, Ino concluded, but in reality she was one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. She seemed very genuine and kind, not expected at all. Honestly, Ino expected her to act similarly to Sasuke, cold and distant, but was pleasantly surprised.

“Father,” Ino suddenly asked after Yukira left the shop, “why doesn’t Yukira go to the Academy like the rest of us?” 

Inoichi smiled down at his daughter, “I’m not sure, Ino, but your mother is requesting that you go in for lunch now.” 

Ino felt her thoughts linger on the snowy-haired girl for a moment before turning to walk into her house. 

\--------------------

After Yukira finished visiting her family, she walked over to Sasuke’s house. 

“Sasuke, I’m here.” She shouted while walking into his house. 

She received silence in response. _Hm, where could he be?_

Yukira shifted her chakra mode to sensory and looked for Sasuke’s chakra. 

It was closer than she thought. Right behind her in fact. Yukira felt herself smirk, _he never learns._

She turned quickly, catching the hand that was clutching the kunai. Sasuke grunted, swinging his leg in an attempt to hit her side. Yukira caught that too. 

Though Yukira was a couple inches shorter than Sasuke, she was swifter. 

Yukira, still clutching Sasuke’s right arm and left leg, swiped quick at his right leg causing him to crumble to the ground. 

Sasuke let out a groan as he hit the floor. The brunette looked up at the grinning girl with a glare. 

“Oh come on, Sasuke. We do this every time. You’re getting predictable.” She smirked. 

She was momentarily confused when Sasuke smirked back at her. 

Suddenly, ‘Sasuke’ poofed away and was replaced with a log instead. 

_Huh?_

Turning quickly she was greeted with a smirking Sasuke, though this time he didn’t attack, only stared. 

“I got you.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She smirked, pushing the boy’s shoulder playfully. “That was clever, I can’t lie.” She turned back to the log. “When did you do it?” 

“When you grabbed my leg.” He explained, moving to discard the log. 

“I’ll have to remember that one.” She narrowed her eyes jokingly. 

They walked further into the house and into the kitchen. 

Sasuke, despite his age, was an amazing cook. Yukira _loved_ his food so much, she started telling Naho to stop making her a plate as she spends dinner at Sasuke’s almost everyday. 

“Here, I got you something.” Yukira said, placing a bag on the counter. “Tomatoes. I know how much you like them.”

Sasuke moved towards the bag, opened it and took the red fruit and placed it in the sink to wash them. 

“Thank you.” He said quietly.

After a few moments of comfortable silence, Sasuke walked over to where she took a seat at the table and placed some sliced tomatoes in front of her. 

“I met someone today.” Yukira started, watching as Sasuke turned to her, still chewing. 

The boy raised his eyebrows as if to say, _who?_

“Yamanaka Ino. Her father runs the flower shop.” Yukira explained, shoving the last tomato slice in her mouth. “Do you know her? She seems really nice.”

“She goes to school with me.” Sasuke explained as he got up to grab her plate.

“At the Academy? I want to go.” 

Sasuke turned to her with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. “Ino’s annoying. She shouldn’t be the reason you want to go.” Sasuke began pulling items out of the fridge and placing them on the counter. 

“She’s not. I wanna go because you’re there too.” Yukira moved to help him prepare the meal, missing the way the boy’s ears reddened. 

Sasuke selfishly didn’t want Yukira to attend the Academy. He knew she’d make friends easily if today proved anything. He liked that he had all her attention. Yukira was his best friend. He didn’t show much emotion since the incident and he was cold sometimes, but she stayed with him patiently, working him through some of his issues. Things felt easier when she was around.

The same thing could be said for Yukira. When Sasuke was around, she didn’t think about the massacre even though it should’ve been hard not to. 

“What are we making today?” She snapped him out of his thoughts. 

Sasuke had rice cooking already so he’d be ready when Yukira arrived. Once he answered _rice balls with bonito filling,_ Yukira smiled brightly and began prepping. 

They worked silently, the longest part should've been cooking the rice but since Sasuke had done that in advance, the meal was prepared relatively quickly. 

They ate silently too, _Itadakimasu (_ **_Thank you for the food)_ ** _,_ and took small glances at each other when they weren’t looking. 

When Yukira went to the Tsuki District that night, she walked up to Naho. 

“I want to attend the Academy.” 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask :)


	3. Chapter 3: Mizuki Incident

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a trigger warning for mentions of suicide. 
> 
> Please stay safe
> 
> Edited: October 12, 2020 (incomplete)
> 
> nsd: No Specific Date

**I do not own Naruto :0**

**January (nsd), Yukira is eight years old**

Yukira is always calm and collected, especially for her age; however, walking into the Academy building a week after her chat with the Hokage had nerves buzzing in her veins paired with a heart beating slightly faster than normal. She’d longed to go to this place since her childhood and _she was finally here!_

Yukira walked down the wooded hallway, taking in the rather plain decor with a small smile. There were numerous doors, likely leading to classrooms, but she was looking for a specific one. Sarutobi told her to find Iruka-Sensei’s classroom, the man who would be her teacher until she made Genin. She was a little embarrassed to admit that she was late because of nerves and was afraid she’d be interrupting a lesson. 

Once she matched the number on the door to the one Sarutobi gave her, she lifted her fist and placed a timid knock on the wood. 

The door slowly slid open, revealing a tan man with a kind smile and friendly brown eyes. “Ah,” The man Yukira could only assume Iruka spoke, “You must be Tsuki Yukira. The Hokage informed me that you'd be joining us today.” He pulled the door open wider so she could step in. As she walked into the classroom, she noticed all the eyes staring directly at her. Her face flushed at the attention.“Class, This is Yukira. Everyone do your best to make her feel welcome.” Iruka said to the class before turning to face her, “You may sit next to Sasuke-” Yukira looked around curiously for the raven, “-or… I think there’s also a free desk next to Ino--” He was cut off by a blurred mess of yellow and orange rushing noisily into the room.

The boy was blond一a factor that immediately drew Yukira in一 with sunkissed skin. “Sorry I’m late, Iruka-Sensei,” The boy muttered sheepishly with his eyes shut in an apologetic manner. When they opened, Yukira was amazed. “I was-” He cut himself off as his gaze landed on the一captivised一 girl standing next to his Sensei. 

_BLUE, PRETTY BLUE_. Yukira’s ability to have coherent thoughts was shut down as she looked into the boy’s cerulean eyes. He emitted something she could only label as pure sunshine.

“Naruto!” Iruka shouted in a scolding manner. “You’re late again! How many times have I told you to-” He cut himself off with a frustrated growl. “Get to your seat.” The man sounded frustrated at the blond as if him being tardy was a recurring pattern. 

Naruto shook his head, snapping himself out of a daze and rubbed a hand on the back of his neck, “Sorry, Sensei.” He had blush coating his tan cheeks as he turned and walked over to an empty desk. Once he sat down, his gaze landed on Yukira once again. 

“As I was saying, Yukira. You may sit anywhere you like-” Iruka started only to be cut off by Ino. 

“Yukira!” The girl smiled brightly, “Come sit with me!” Ino shot out from her seat before Yukira could respond and pulled the girl towards her desk. 

\-----

**Time Passes, Yukira is between the ages of 8 and 12**

For class today, Iruka told them that they’d be sparring against each other to test their Taijutsu skills. The class was gathered outside, their bodies lined around the makeshift arena. 

“All right! Listen up! I have a list made-up at random in my hands. When I call your name, listen to see who you’ll be up against.” Iruka began listing names and the pair would spar. It was a quite boring process. After 3 matches, Yukira’s ears perked when she heard her name being called, “Tsuki Yukira and Uchiha Sasuke.” 

Yukira stepped away from her spot beside Ino and glanced around the arena in search of the raven, a feeling of awkwardness settling in her stomach. 

It’s been months since Yukira had been to Sasuke’s house. Ever since getting to know Naruto, Ino and a couple other students in her class, she hasn’t had much time to keep up with the Uchiha. 

Whispers and giggles broke out as Sasuke finally stepped into view, immediately catching Yukira’s eye. He had a tense expression on his face, one that she never thought would be directed towards her. 

“Okay, you two. Step into the center please.” Iruka told them cautiously. He had been a little hesitant to have the two spar with each other knowing which clans they come from and their reputation. 

Yukira complied, moving to stand in the center of the circle, waiting for Sasuke to approach her. He was taking his time, walking slowly, as if surveying her. 

“You may begin when you’re ready.” 

Without warning, Sasuke surged forwards, giving Yukira less than enough time to evade the attack. Sasuke sneakily shot his leg out to connect with Yukira’s side, only to be caught milliseconds before contact. Sasuke jerked his leg back to attack again. It continued on for 30 seconds; Sasuke, attacking while Yukira blocked.

Shifting her weight onto her back foot, narrowly avoided a punch that was aimed her way and countered with a blow to his middle. 

Sasuke inhaled sharply as Yukira’s fist connected with his stomach, folding slightly into the blow. 

The crowd watched the exchange of hits, captivated. Yukira was undoubtedly one-of-a-kind. No other girl in the class would fight this enthusiastically, especially against Uchiha Sasuke.

Her movements were calculated, made only when necessary and with precision. Sasuke, however, was getting irritated. It showed in his body language; gritted teeth, jerky hits and unnecessary footwork. There is no way he was going to come out of this victorious. 

Yukira kept a calm and steady expression as she threw the last deciding kick at Sasuke’s legs, leading him to tumble onto the dirt ground below them. Yukira moved so fast, the scene seemed to have happened in a flash and she was leaning over the boy with her hand on the collar of his shirt, forcing him to stay on the ground with a playful glare.

Sasuke met her eyes shortly after, revealing a sullen expression on the boy’s face. 

Yukira recoiled in shock. “Sasuke?…” She trailed off in a whisper. 

The boy shoved her off and got to his feet before turning away from her and walking back to his spot among their classmates. 

\--------

**Years pass, Yukira is twelve years old**

**January 18**

The final graduation exam was approaching. 

Right now, Yukira is slumped in her desk, waiting for her teacher, Iruka-Sensei, to come back with a late Naruto. The boy likely overslept. No matter how much Yukira forced him to actually pay attention during class, study and simply _try,_ his old habits were going to be hard to escape and it didn’t help that Naruto lived alone. 

(Yukira asked once if the boy would like to live with her and Naho, though he denied. However, he’ll often sleep over there)

The classroom was loud, students chatted and played around while waiting for Iruka to come back. Yukira however, was sitting in her desk with Ino to her left (the empty spot to her right being reserved for Naruto). They were colouring on the other's notes to annoy each other, both of them laughing as the drawings grew bigger and more silly. 

Kiba was sitting behind them, watching with an amused grin. Next to him, Sakura had a sneer thinking about how childish they were. 

Sasuke and Shikamaru were watching as well, both sporting a lazy, uninterested gaze but wouldn’t stop watching for whatever reason.

At some point, Iruka had walked into the class room with a tied-up Naruto slung over his shoulder. The Chunin plopped Naruto onto the floor in front of the classroom and looked at him with an almost parental gaze. “Naruto, you’ve been doing really well lately, don’t start slacking off.” Iruka bent down and began untying the ropes一 _ropes?_. “You just need to pass this last exam, then you’re free.” 

“I can pass, believe it!” Naruto cheered, causing some students in the classroom to chuckle. 

“Naruto, head back to your seat for just a moment.” Iruka waited until the boy did so, smiling as Yukira welcomed the blond with a grin. “Everyone knows that the final part of the exam asks you to be able to successfully form a simple Clone Jutsu, right? Well, for today, to ensure that everyone will pass, we will practice, one at a time in front of the class.”

Students grumbled as they rose from their seats and made their way to the front of the class. Iruka was a good teacher, Yukira actually liked the man. Although he could be quite short-tempered, he showed compassion for teaching his students. 

Haruno Sakura stepped forwards after she was called to do the jutsu first. “Alright, Sakura here, let’s do it.” The pink haired girl focused her chaka, “Transform!” And transformed into Iruka. 

“Alright, you transformed into me. Good.” Iruka commented as he jotted something down in his notes. 

“Yes! I did it!” The girl cheered before turning, “Sasuke, did you see that?” The girl asked Sasuke, who seemed he couldn’t care less what the girl said. 

Yukira sighed and rolled her eyes as the girl who exuded extreme pick-me energy. Haruno Sakura was one of the many girls who claimed to be in-love with Sasuke. She was overly obnoxious and showed close to no talent in most of the ninja fields. Sakura was good in the theoretical aspect of things, but not the physical aspect. 

“Next. Tsuki Yukira.” Iruka called out, writing something else down. 

Yukira stepped forwards and made the hand signs. Without a word, she transformed into a flawless Iruka. 

“Good as usual, Yukira. Keep up the hard work.” Iruka smiled. 

Yukira offered a small smile in return and walked back to her spot. 

“Uchiha Sasuke.” Iruka said, “You’re up.” He did the jutsu and a wave of giggles resonated in the classroom. 

“Uh, good.” Iruka dismissed him, glancing around the classroom. “Next, Naruto Uzumaki.” 

Yukira held her breath. She knew Naruto could do this jutsu, they’d only practised a hundred times, but for some reason, she had a bad feeling. Not to mention the boy had that playful grin on his face that he usually had before doing something stupid. 

He stomped forwards and briefly caught Yukira’s pale, grey eyes. He had a small smirk on his face as he formed the hand sign. “Transform!” He called out. After the puff of smoke dissipated, a naked woman, who strangely had similar features to Naruto, appeared. 

Staring wide-eyed, Yukira fought a blush forming on her cheeks and slapped a hand to her mouth to stifle a laugh that was threatening to escape. Beside her, Sasuke scoffed again and muttered a small _loser_ under his breath. Naruto however, ignored everything around him and erupted into a loud, bubbling laughter that seemed to carry across the classroom. Iruka spazzed at Naruto while shoving kleenex into his nose to stop the bleeding. _Pervert!_

Naruto was soon sent back to his spot by a grumbling Iruka, the large smirk on his face not ceasing. 

  
  


After classes, Yukira once again denied her friends when they’d asked to hang out. 

Lately, Yukira has been feeling burnt out. Dull. 

**(tw)**

At twelve years old, the idea of suicide shouldn’t be on her mind yet she can’t help but gravitate towards the thought of it. _What would it be like? To feel death’s cold embrace._

It’s _tiring_ to put on an act of being okay. Yukira’s just tired. 

Her chest aches, as if there’s a large empty space where her heart once lay. 

She is stuck in complete darkness and no matter how hard she pretends she’s okay, it gets harder and harder everyday to find the motivation to breathe. 

She _has_ to think of her friends. _Naho, Naruto, Ino… Sasuke._ But sometimes, even that isn’t enough. 

Surely, they were getting tired of her. _Sasuke never acts like he even wants me around anymore, Naruto must get so tired of me bossing him around all the time, even Inoichi whom I walked in on complaining about me. It’d probably be best if I kept my distance for a while._

She feels completely alone in this world as if no one will ever fill the void. 

The problem isn’t with her friends, it’s with her. 

_I just want my family back._

Yukira blinked away the tears that gathered in her eyes, praying that nobody saw her crying. She silently made her way around the village, not feeling ready to head back to the Tsuki Compound just yet. 

The feeling is unavoidable, Yukira finds, the feeling of loneliness. No matter what, Yukira finds herself in the same mental state at least once a day.

While lost in her thoughts, Yukira didn’t notice the body heading straight for her. “Oof!” Yukira winced as she fell to the ground upon impact. She looked up to see a very tall man with gray hair that seemed to have a mind of its own. She couldn’t help but think that man looked familiar. “Hey! Watch where you’re going!” She growled as she pulled herself to stand. The man didn’t even budge when they collided. In fact, he didn’t even stop reading the book that was currently pressed into his face. “Well? Aren’t you going to say sorry for bumping into me?” 

“You didn’t look like you were paying attention either. Why don’t you apologize to me?” The man put down the book and set it into his weapons pouch. The majority of his face was obscured by a mask while his shinobi headband covered one eye. Really, the only thing visible was one, dark eye. 

Yukira scowled and glared at the man before her. She pushed past him and noticed the Jonin vest. _This guy’s a Jonin? Are all Jonin this rude?_

Yukira paused when she caught the signature of his chakra. Her eyes widened in recognition as she spun around only to see that the man was no longer there. Shaking her head, Yukira turned once more to continue on her path through the village. 

She found herself at one of the training grounds, drawn in by the ruckus and bursts of chakra. 

A boy with a green jumpsuit on was training alongside a man with the exact same jumpsuit on. Both weren’t using Ninjutsu, and upon closer inspection, the younger Ninja’s chakra didn’t seem to be as advanced as his comrades. In fact, it seemed as if the boy was unable to mold it for any use of Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. 

Though, aside from that, the green boy worked hard. Anyone could see that. He sparred with confidence and determination his other teammates clearly didn’t possess. His teammates, two of them, were leaning against a tree while watching the boy and the man dance around each other一Yukira assumed the man was their Sensei一with tired eyes. 

Yukira almost immediately recognized the Hyūga. 

All clans possessed a certain distinctive feature. The Tsuki Clan had their striking pale skin, long white hair and pale grey eyes. The family itself was completely physically flawless. Strong and tall builds of the men would leave people fawning at their wake. Even the women, who didn't typically take the distinctive Tsuki clan features were beautiful. Strangely enough, the women didn’t get the white hair gene, and their eyes were most commonly brown with the exceptional green. Now that she thinks about it, Yukira is the only female she can recall with white hair, pale skin, and grey eyes. 

The Uchiha was seemingly the exact opposite of the Tsuki. Dark features occured in almost every Uchiha spawn. Their pale skin is the only thing they have in common. 

The Hyūga, however, had these _extraordinary_ lavender eyes and usually black or brown hair. Although Yukira's friend, Hinata, had a pretty purple tint to her hair. 

The boy she was looking at was Hyūga Neji, Hinata’s cousin. Yukira remembers him from her childhood, back when Daisuke visited with Hyūga Hiashi. They had a falling out and her father told her to stay away from the Hyūga clan from that point on. 

As if sensing her gaze, the boy met her eyes and a glare crossed his features. 

Yukira didn’t understand what the hostility was for. She has never in her life even spoke to this boy, so why did he hate her? The girl next to him with identical buns on the sides of her head looked to her partner to see his gaze trained on the last surviving Tsuki member. The tense, hostile atmosphere was dense and thick. Yukira was afraid that a fight would break out between them. This boy is a Genin, with way more experience than her. Not to mention, he has activated his clan’s Dōjutsu and Yukira, according to genetics, _can’t._

Their Sensei and the green boy were both oblivious as to what was transpiring between Hyūga and Tsuki. Unconsciously, Yukira found herself moving into a defensive position with a glare creasing her eyebrows. Hyūga Neji’s unforeseen distaste irked her. _Why, what did I ever do to you?_ Slowly, she felt something akin to rage simmering underneath her skin. Her hands closed into fists and she watched the boy do the same. This is it. They’re going to fight. 

Someone appeared next to Yukira before they could make a move. A hand found itself on her shoulder, halting her movements. “Ah, so you come to the training grounds to start fights with Shinobi whose ranks are higher than your own. A hot-head. Who would’ve guessed.” Yukira turned to see the masked man from before and scowled. 

She jerked her body out of his grasp and pointed to the boy with the lavender eyes. “ _He_ wanted to fight _me._ I didn’t do anything to him.” 

“Kakashi,” An unfamiliar voice spoke. Yukira looked at the green Sensei with a raised eyebrow. “Is something wrong?” 

Kakashi, the grey haired man, raised his hand in dismissal. “Your student seems to have some… pent up frustration and he wished to take it out against Tsuki Yukira.” The other man, with eyebrows thicker than anything the young Tsuki has ever seen, looked over to Yukira and his eyes widened. 

“Neji?” The man looked shocked. “Neji never loses his temper. Surely you are mistaken.” 

The aforementioned boy walks towards the group with his teammates following slowly, cautiously, behind him. When he reaches them, his gaze never leaves Yukira’s. A flash of annoyance flows over the girl and she returns the gaze. 

“Hi!” The green boy yelled to Yukira, stealing her attention from the lavender eyes. “I am Rock Lee. You are Yukira. Go out with me and I will be the happiest boy alive!”

Both Yukira’s eyes and mouth were open in shock. She looked at Kakashi with a face that easily read: _What is he talking about? Help me, Kakashi._

“The Hokage has requested Yukira’s presence, so we really must be going.” Kakashi complied with her wishes. Kakashi offered a quick wave to the team and walked off. 

Yukira blocked out any other words spoken and walked silently next to Kakashi. When they were a safe enough distance away, she spoke. “That was weird.” She turned to face Kakashi and he nodded at her. “What were you doing at the training grounds? Does the Hokage really want to see me?” 

“No, that was a lie.” He said simply. 

“Then you were following me?” Yukira glared. 

“No, I just so happen to be at the right place, at the right time.”

Yukira huffed but remained at Kakashi’s side. 

“So, what was really happening between you and Hyūga Neji? Looked pretty close to a bloodbath.” Kakashi asked her. 

“Nothing that I was aware of. He just freaked out when he saw me. I’ve never even spoken to that boy before.” Yukira groaned. 

“He’s an experienced Genin. You’re an academy student. You wouldn’t have lasted 5 minutes.” Kakashi chided.

Although she thought the same thing just moments ago, the Tsuki girl halted all movements and glared hard at the white haired man. “Are you doubting my abilities?” Kakashi didn’t even know who she was, much less what she was capable of. 

“What abilities?” Kakashi scoffed and faced forward. Although, the man knew very well what abilities this girl possessed. She was Tsuki Daisuke’s daughter, a very peculiar one at that. He was just testing her.

When he didn’t receive a reply, he looked to see the place where Yukira stood and noticed it was empty. With no traces that the girl had even been there. He glanced around the area and didn’t see a glimpse of her white hair. _I must’ve really upset her._

\--------

 _Stupid Kakashi! He doesn’t know anything about me! Who is he to make assumptions? Yukira_ was fuming. She left as soon as the words left his mouth, completely forgetting to ask why he was there seemingly every time she turned around. 

\--------

**January 19, Yukira is twelve years old**

"We will now start the final exam," Iruka started, "When your name is called, proceed to the testing room. The final test will be on Clone Jutsu." 

Yukira was seated next to Sasuke, but she couldn’t take her mind off of Naruto. They’ve been working on this jutsu for a while and Naruto has gotten so good at properly kneading his chakra. “I hope he’s going to be okay.” She whispered. She missed the annoyed glare Sasuke sent her way. 

“Tsuki Yukira. You’re up first. Follow me.” Iruka motioned Yukira to follow him to the room. Determination shone in her eyes. _I can do this_. Iruka opened the door for Yukira and gestured her in. He made his way to a chair and sat himself down next to a man she recognized to be Mizuki Sensei. "Alright, Tsuki Yukira. Can you demonstrate the shadow clone jutsu for us today?" Iruka asked, looking at her with a smile. 

She nodded and formed the correct hand signs. “Clone Jutsu.” Seven perfect clones appeared next to Yukira and she ignored the look she got from Miuki, which was a cross between amazement and resentment. 

“Great Job, Yu-” 

“Hmph.” Mizuki scoffed. “Another Tsuki brat to worry about.”

“Mizuki!” Iruka scolded his friend. 

As mentioned before, the Tsuki clan was well respected; however, they’re were few that resented them for their power. Mizuki obviously being one of them. The man was likely referring to her older brother being the brat. 

Yukira clenched her jaw as she dispelled the clones. “May I go now?” She asked Iruka. 

The grey haired Chūnin spoke before Iruka. “Ah, yes. The Tsuki clan is far too mighty to speak to the commonalty like myself. The oh-so-powerful clan.” Mizuki mocked a bow. “Well, I guess you’re not so powerful anymore.” 

“Mizuki! That's enough!” Iruka shouted, appalled at his friend's behaviour. “Yukira, you may go now. Please send in Uchiha Sasuke.” 

Shaken, Yukira left the room and told Sasuke it was his turn. When she sat in her spot, Shikamaru turned to her. 

“Yukira? What’s the matter?” 

Figures Shikamaru would be the one to notice that Yukira was a tad shaky. The boy had amazing observational skills after all. 

“Oh, uh, Shikamaru. It’s nothing.” Yukira cursed herself for blushing. 

\---------------------

The Genin Exams are finished and Yukira passed, as expected. Thankfully, Naruto passed as well, along with all of her friends. To celebrate and as a thank-you, Naruto asked Yukira to head over to Ichiraku’s with him for some ramen. Before Yukira could ask her other friends if they could come, Naruto had already whisked her away. 

\-------------------

“Hey, Old Man!” The blond shouted happily as he walked into the shop. 

Ichiraku Ramen was Naruto’s favourite place to eat and Yukira only knows that because he pretty much tells her everytime they eat here, which was way too often.

“Ah, Naruto.” The owner smiled at them walking in, “The Usual?” Teuchi is a kind man who was nearly always smiling. This man and his daughter were truly the first people to accept and acknowledge Naruto and for that, Yukira respects them. Not to mention their ramen is delicious. 

“Hello, Teuchi-san, Ayame-san.” Yukira greeted the pair with a smile. 

“Yukira” Teuchi greeted. The man watched her for a few seconds before his eyes traveled down to the brand new Hitai-ate fastened around her neck. “Say, was it graduation day?” He looked over to Naruto to see a very similar Hitai-ate tied around his head. 

“Yes! Check it out, Old Man! I’m a Genin!” Naruto cheered with the brightest smile on his face. 

“Congratulations. Ramen’s on me!” The man laughed. “Enjoy your date.” He turned and continued working. 

_Date?_ Yukira thought. She turned to Naruto to see the boy flushed a bright red.

“Eh! Don’t say that!” Naruto exclaimed loudly with a raised fist. 

\--

Naruto ended up having six bowls of ramen while Yukira barely managed two. It was later in the night now, and Yukira was walking Naruto back to his apartment. 

“Hey, wait. There’s something I want to show you first!” Naruto suddenly shouted and tugged hard on her arm. 

After ten minutes of the blond dragging her behind him through narrow alleys and trees , Yukira stopped. “Naruto, quit tugging me. I can walk on my own.” She pouted and snatched her arm out of his grasp. 

“Ah, sorry about that. Just hurry, we’re almost there.” The blond laughed excitedly, leaving Yukira no choice but to follow. Yukira’s weakness, also known as Naruto’s laugh. Her favourite thing in the world was hearing this boy, who’s been through so much, laugh after all the negativity in his life. 

Naruto finally stopped when he reached a clearing. 

It was a large, empty field, likely used for training. 

“Look.” Naruto pointed upwards. 

In the sky was a full moon, big and bright, shining down on them surrounded by millions of stars. 

“Wow, Naruto. This is beautiful.” Yukira said, amazed. The girl sat down, soon after pulling the blond onto the ground as well. Together, they watched the stars. 

At some point, Yukira’s hand found Naruto’s. 

It was perfect. 

Half an hour passed before Naruto yawned. 

“Are you getting tired?” Yukira asked him gently as she turned to face him. 

“No! I’m okay.” The blond shook his head. “Totally awake-” Another yawn. 

“We can go back now, Naruto.” She laughed. “Thank you for showing me this.” 

“It’s no big deal, really. I thought you’d like this space because it’s far enough away from the village and no lights will take away from the stars.” Naruto shrugged while scratching his neck. He remembered when Yukira said she couldn’t stargaze because the lights of the village were too bright, so he thought long and hard to find a good spot for her. 

“Thank you, Naru.” 

The blond was about to speak again until Yukira pushed him back onto the ground and kneeled above him protectively. “Uh, Yukira?” 

“Shh.” She whispered back. “There’s someone here.” 

It didn’t take long for Yukira to sense that there were multiple chakra signatures moving at fast rates towards them. _Iruka is among them…_ she thought, catching the familiar kind chakra of their (old?) Sensei. 

“Where are they?” Naruto asked her, a worried tint to his tone. 

“Coming this way. We gotta hide. There’s something wrong.” Yukira didn’t wait for the boy to answer. She gripped his hand tightly and pulled him into some foliage. 

It was a chase. It had to be. 

Yukira closed her eyes for a second, switching her chakra into sensory mode. 

There were Shinobi all over the village, scouting nearly every corner. Hiruzen was out too. _Something so important happened that the Hokage had to deal with it too?_

“What’s happening?”

“They’re all over the place. Something must have been lost. It’s like they’re looking for something.” There were a few that she’d recognized. Iruka’s, Hiruzen’s, some other teachers from the academy, Mizuki’s… 

_Mizuki?_ Yukira thought. _Where’s he headed?_ He was close to them, but moving at fast speeds towards the gates out of Konoha. _Could it be?_

“Naruto, come with me.” Yukira pulled him gently towards Mizuki’s destination as they took off in a sprint. 

“Where-?” 

“Shh.” She cut him off. 

Naruto kept up with her well. Yukira was fast but Naruto was doing well keeping up with her speed. 

If they slowed down, they would clash with Mizuki. However, if they kept at the rate they were going now, they would get there before Mizuki, which is what Yukira was aiming for. 

As calculated, Yukira stopped and Mizuki was near to where they were squatting.

“Naruto,” She turned to him. “Go find Iruka, he’s not far from here. Head that way.” 

Without another word, Naruto obeyed, setting off in the direction Yukira pointed him in. Her heart warmed at the blind trust. 

Once the blond was out of vision, Mizuki was much closer. 

Yukira jumped onto the path she anticipated him to cross and scoured her mind for something that would help in this situation. _A flash bomb, that’s it!_ Her plan was to throw Mizuki of course, even for a second. It was a simple seal, one that Yukira was familiar with. A bright light will shine once the seal has been activated, temporarily blinding the victim. The problem was, Yukira didn’t have any sealing paper. There was one thing she could try, however. Her father was so good at seals, the man simply drew them onto the ground and it would work just as well. Yukira clenched her jaw, _it’s worth a try._

**_(PS idk if that’s actually a thing. It was literally just the first thing i thought of)_ **

Swiftly, Yukira covered any potential path Mizuki could take with the flash bomb seal, carving into the dirt and the barks of trees in hopes it would work. 

Then, she hid in a tree to avoid being seen. 

_If this goes accordingly, I could jump down from the tree and see what Mizuki’s up to. Gotta’ remember, this is just a hunch. Mizuki could be totally innocent, so prepare for repercussions._

Mizuki will be here soon. 

Yukira waited, holding her breath. _Naruto has just found Iruka and they’re heading this way._

A second passes, then her flash bombs go off. 

“Gah!” Mizuki shouted in surprise. 

Yukira jumped down from her perch. _It worked!_

The grey-haired Chūnin was on the ground rubbing his eyes. What caught Yukira’s eye was the oversized scroll fastened tightly on his back. _I don’t know what that is, but I know he shouldn’t have it._

The flash should have Mizuki blinded and if not, uncoordinated for at least a minute depending on his reaction to the flash. The strongest Shinobi could be blinded for five minutes maximum if their reaction time to the flash is slow. It doesn’t matter the strength of a person, if you can’t shut your eyes before that flash reaches its brightest, it could do quite the damage. 

“Argh!” Mizuki groaned once more. 

“Mizuki.” Yukira spoke harshly. “What have you done?” 

A scoff escaped the man’s lips despite his situation. “Of course it’s you. The Tsuki Brat. Just as stuck up as your brother was.” The man stood up, eyes still closed. “Always showing off in the Academy. Proving how _awesome_ he was.” He mocked. “Not so awesome now, is he? You know, when I first saw your brother the first day of the Academy, I thought he was cool too. That-that he was this all around nice guy that everybody likes. But you know what? He’s not! No one saw how rotten he was, except for me.”

Yukira growled. “Are you insane? This happened when you were what一 five? Get over it!” 

Mizuki’s laugh was humourless. “Insane? I might be. But I know one thing. Your beloved _clan_ was full of liars and demons. They deserved to die.” He straightened then, opening his eyes wide enough for Yukira to see them red and watered. “Tsuki Yukio did not deserve any praise. Neither do you!”

The man lunged faster than Yukira could move. She was in shock. _This man is unstable._ She was suddenly scared for her life. Who knows what Mizuki would do in his state of mind. 

Yukira stood frozen, watching as the deranged man grew closer and closer in each passing second. When he finally reached her, his arms snapped tightly around her middle, squeezing until she felt like she couldn’t breathe. Hitting the ground was the worst. Her head hit first, blurring her vision, then her back. Not to mention the weight of the man on top of her. Feeling winded, Yukira attempted to gasp for air. 

A laugh broke out on top of her. “You look so pitiful.” Mizuki snapped. “So weak.” 

Yukira’s unfocused eyes caught the movement of Mizuki’s hands traveling towards her neck. His rough hands brushed against Yukira's neck causing her to flinch. 

The man chuckled as he untied the Hitai-ate around her neck, “You don’t deserve this.” Once off, Mizuki tossed it behind him and stared into her eyes. “Time to rid the world of the wicked, Tsuki scum.” His hands moved once more, fastening them around her neck. 

Fear shot through Yukira. Ever since her father laid his hands in that specific manner, she’s done everything she could to prevent anyone from touching her neck, even tying her brand new forehead protector around it. 

With all the might she had left, Yukira kicked and squirmed until Mizuki’s grip was loose enough for her to slip out. 

Yukira attempted to sense Naruto and Iruka once more. They were close, but there were more people with them. One unfamiliar chakra, and one vaguely familiar chakra. 

Behind her, Mizuki sighed. “Please, don’t make this harder than it needs to be.” 

Yukira whimpered, pulling herself to stand. Her head was spinning and her vision was blurring. She couldn’t see Mizuki clearly, now only relying on her ability to sense his chakra to tell her where he was. 

Yukira took a deep breath, closing her eyes in an attempt to refocus. When they opened back up, everything was clear. 

Mizuki gasped. “How… How is that possible?” The man stepped back, staring at her with wide eyes. “That, that shouldn’t be possible.” Reaching into his weapons pouch, Mizuki pulled out a kunai and launched it at her. 

Yukira’s hand moved before her mind did, catching the weapon by the hilt before it could reach her. 

“No… No way.” Mizuki slapped a hand to his face before letting out a maniacal laugh. 

Just as Mizuki attempted to make another move, “Yukira!” A familiar voice called out. 

The girl's vision fell once again as she turned, “Naruto…” she whispered. 

“Yukira! Watch out!” The blond shouted. 

Yukira turned, to see another kunai aimed straight at her, only, she was too tired to move. She felt weak, the injury on her head taking its toll. 

Just before it could hit, a man jumped in the way. A man so tall, Yukira almost fell over trying to see his face. Though, the attempt would prove futile. The man’s whole face was covered except for one single, dark eye. He had unruly grey hair, sticking up in many different directions. Yukira would’ve found it funny if she had met him in another situation.

 _Hatake Kakashi,_ her mind supplied. The man that was there at the right time and place. 

“Are you okay?” His monotonous voice asked her. 

While she was distracted by this man, Iruka and the other Shinobi apprehended Mizuki. 

“Yukira!”

Her body was suddenly jerked backwards into someone's arms. _Naruto’s. Familiar._ Yukira sagged into his embrace and held him tightly. “Naruto…” She whispered, he voice wavering. 

Naruto pulled back to see tears streaming down her face and his own eyes widened. Never has he ever seen Yukira cry. Nothing even close to it. Seeing her sad broke his heart. Without another word, he pulled her back into his arms and held her until the Iruka, the other Chūnin and the Jōnin told them it was time to head home. They thanked Yukira for her help and praised her bravery, but she didn’t respond, only clinged to Naruto’s side. 

“We need to know what happened, Yukira.” Iruka spoke softly, bending down to her level. “Could you tell us.”

Yukira met Iruka’s eyes and the man had to hide his shock. One of the strongest students he knew just experienced someone so traumatic to bring her to tears. Her usual bright eyes were red and glossy with tears. Iruka hated seeing her like this. 

Yukira hiccuped. “H-he said t-that一”

“Iruka,” Kakashi called out, “Let her speak with the Hokage. She trusts him.” He walked forwards slightly, holding something in his hands. Her headband. “Here.” He placed it in her hand with a nod. He turned then, only holding eye contact with Yukira for a second. “Aito ( **the other chūnin)**. Take Mizuki and follow me.” 

Once they were gone, it was only Iruka, Yukira and Naruto at the scene. 

“Naruto, are you okay to take Yukira home?” Iruka asked him. 

Naruto’s hands tightened around her shoulders. “Yes. Leave it to me.”

“Thank you, Naruto.” He smiled before turning to Yukira. “You did so well, Yukira. Thank you. Without you, we may not have stopped Mizuki.” 

True to his word, Naruto walked Yukira to the Tsuki District. 

“Please stay, Naru.” She asked once they reached the gate. 

Naruto didn’t need to be asked again, taking the girl inside her house, past a slightly worried Naho, and into her room. 

They slept cuddled in each other’s arms. 

Yukira has never slept better than she had that night. 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask :)


	4. the Assemblage of team Seven!+

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited: September 26, 2020 (incomplete, may change a few things)
> 
> Update, December 24, 2020: I fkn hate this chapter man

**January 20, Yukira is twelve years old**

Yukira woke up warm in the embrace of her best friend, Naruto.

They’d slept well into the afternoon due to Naho not having the heart to wake the children tangled with each other. 

When Yukira’s eyes opened, she was met with the tanned skin of Uzumaki Naruto. His eyes were closed, and slow, deep breaths still escaped his mouth. 

_Sleepyhead,_ the girl mused. Ever-so-slowly, Yukira adjusted her body so she could wiggle the arm that was cramped in-between their bodies and lifted it to his face. “Naruto,” She whispered before snickering. She moved her hand to one of his eyes, prying it open to see a slightly dazed, blue eye. “Wakey, wakey.” Yukira sung. 

“Yukira,” Naruto whined while shutting his eyes more forcefully, “let me _sleeeep!_ ” The blond ignored her laughter and tugged her closer to his body. 

“GAH! Naruto! You’re suffocating me!” Yukira laughed as she pushed away from his body. 

The boy opened his eyes back up, one at a time, before a mischievous look took over his features. 

Yukira hardly had any time to admire the beautiful, blue, crystal-like eyes before the blond suddenly released her from his grasp, leading her to tumble off the bed. 

Yukira squealed, attempting to grip onto anything to save herself from hitting the ground too hard, but ultimately failed. She hit the ground with a small thud before springing up and glaring at the cackling blond. 

“Naruto!” She growled, pouncing on the boy, though her anger slowly dissipated while listening to Naruto’s obnoxious (contagious) laughter, and slowly, she began laughing as well. 

A knock interrupted just as Yukira managed the upper hand. 

“Yukira? Naruto? Are you awake?” Naho’s voice sounded through the door. “Lunch is on the table for when you’re ready.”

“Lunch?” Yukira wondered, _had we slept that long?_

Together, Yukira and Naruto wandered down the hallway and towards the dining area. 

“I’ve made sandwiches for you both.” Naho smiled while placing the plates onto the table. 

“Thank you for the food,” Both Yukira and Naruto smiled before munching their sandwich. 

Naho smiled while watching the pair communicate with their eyes and kick each other under the table. Ever since meeting Yukira, Naruto has nearly become a permanent residence in the household. Whatever time Yukira didn’t spend sleeping at Ino’s or Sasuke’s, she’d keep Naruto company. Naho, despite the warnings of many of the villagers, loved Naruto. She thought him to be the sweetest, silliest little boy simply in need of TLC, which Naho was willing to supply. Not to mention that Yukira was happier when he was around. 

“Oh, by the way,” Naho called out to the two, smirking as she caught Naruto tossing a crumb into Yukira’s hair, “don’t forget to visit Lord Hokage sometime today.” 

At this, Yukira visibly deflated as all her nerves from the night before returned. _Speaking to the Hokage… about what happened._

From beside, Naruto placed a tan hand on top of her paler one. “Everything will be okay. I’ll be right beside you, believe it.” He whispered gently. 

\------------

In the Hogake’s office, Iruka, Lord Hokage and Aito ( **the other Chunin from the last chapter)** were seated, awaiting an explanation from the newly appointed Genin. 

Iruka cleared his throat once before speaking. “Lord Hokage. During the final phase of the Genin exam, Mizuki was acting discourteous towards Yukira-chan, mocking the tragedy that occurred 4 years prior.” The tanned man spared Yukira a small glance before continuing. “Mizuki’s actions last night led me to believe that he was harbouring ill-intent towards the girl before this incident occurred. Acknowledging Mizuki’s acts of treason as well as harming a fellow Kunoichi with the intent to kill leads me to conclude that he is unstable and needs to be sentenced to prison for endangering the village.” 

Sarutobi nodded, jotting a few words down. “Thank you, Iruka.” The wrinkled man then looked at Naruto and Yukira. “Now, could you begin with how the both of you found your way out into the forest?”

Yukira took a minute to think. Last night, she had not been able to utter a word. She _has_ to be stronger today. 

“After the graduation exam, Naruto and I went to Ichiraku’s for some dinner. Then afterwards, he took me to a clearing to watch the stars. That’s when I sensed the chaos in the village. Mizuki was heading our way, towards _one_ of the villages exitsー”

Sarutobi smirked slightly. Konoha had many secret entrances/exits, and of course Yukira knew about them.

“ーSo, I just assumed that he was at fault. I told Naruto to find Iruka and tell him where we were while I stopped Mizuki.” Yukira took a deep breath before continuing. “H-He said that my family deserved to die… and tried to hurt me.” 

Sarutobi’s heart was clenching. His (grand)parental love toward the snowy haired girl proved his bias during this case as he wished for Mizuki’s death. _After all she’s been through during her childhood, she has to deal with fools like Mizuki._

Though the man didn’t doubt her story at all, Sarutobi needed to keep this professional. “Iruka, could you confirm Yukira’s story in your perspective?” 

“Yes, Lord Hokage. Naruto found me and claimed that Yukira knows where Mizuki was headed and sent him to warn me.” Honestly, Iruka was amazed at Yukira’s ability to properly assess a situation at her age, as well as her above average sensory abilities. Mizuki was apprehended in nearly half the time thanks to her. 

“And Aito, any further comments?” 

“No, Lord Hokage.” The quiet Chūnin bowed. 

“Very well. You’re both dismissed. Thank you for your time.”

At his words, both Chūnin exited the room with a bow leaving Naruto and Yukira. 

“Naruto, you are free to go. Yukira, I would like to speak with you.” 

Yukira knew the situation with Mizuki would be handled and she wouldn't have to worry anymore, thanks to Lord Hokage.

Sarutobi and Yukira had grown close throughout the years. Yukira sees him as her grandfather-figure and felt very safe when he was around. 

Naruto looked over to Yukira, asking her a silent question and when he got a nod, he left the room.

Yukira smiled for the first time since she entered the room before reaching a hand into the pouch which held her Hitai-ate (forehead protector or headband). 

“Guess what?” The young girl was vibrating with excitement with her hands were hidden behind her back. 

The older man looked to Yukira with amused eyes and put a thinking hand up to his face to humour her. “Hmm, let me see… You passed the Genin exams?” 

“Yeah!” She brought her hands out from behind her back and revealed her newly acquired Leaf headband (or forehead protector). 

Of course Sarutobi knows she has passed. He has her test scores right in front of him. The girls test scores were nearly perfect. Something that hasn’t happened since Uchiha Itachi. She surely is the best in her generation. 

Yukira tied the headband around her neck, and when she was finished, she held her chin high for Sarutobi to see. “Whaddya think?” She smiled brightly, displaying all of her perfect teeth. 

“Suits you.” Sarutobi could only hope that with her training alongside Kakashi and two other Genin will help her find the Will of Fire, and help those in need. 

Suddenly, Yukira’s face turned stoic and she stilled all movements. Her head turned to the door before she looked to the Hokage with a knowing smirk. 

Sarutobi sensed someone coming, and judging by Yukira’s smile, she already knows who. 

The door slid open quickly and exposed the intruder. Sarutobi sighed in annoyance as he recognized the small frame.

“Get ready to fight, old man!” Konohamaru burst into the room holding shuriken in his hands. He surged forward only to stop as soon as he noticed Yukira in the room. “Y-Yukira-chan!” Konohamaru shouted, “What are you doing here?” The young boy dropped his shuriken and rushed to give the white-haired girl a tight hug. 

“Hey, Konohamaru!” Yukira laughed, accepting the boy's hug. Konohamaru was like a brother to Yukira. After the incident, 4 year old Konohamaru clung to 8 year old Yukira unaware of the shadow that loomed over her aura, and she couldn’t be more grateful for it. 

\---

_The Hokage cleared his voice, “Yukira, concerning your current, uh, living situation. A woman named Naho has volunteered to--”_

_“Grandpa!” A small, energetic boy ran into the room, dragging an apologetic parent by their hands._

_“Konohamaru, now’s not a good time.” The Hokage looked sternly at the boy._

_Yukira turned in her seat to look at the intruding boy. Almost immediately, his eyes found hers. “Grandpa, who’s that?”_

_“Listen, Konoham-” Lord Hokage sighed._

_“Yukira. My name’s Yukira.” She said._

_Konohamaru climbed onto Yukira lap with an enchanted expression, “Yu-ki-ra. Yukira. My name’s Konohamaru.”_

_“Uh… It’s nice to meet you, Konohamaru.” Yukira felt awkward._

_“Konohamaru, I think it’s time for you to leave now.” Lord Hokage gestured for the parent to take the child out of the room so he could continue his meeting with Yukira._

_“But - but I don’t wanna leave.” He whined, clinging to Yukira’s shirt, “Yu-ki-ra, don’t let them take me.” Unconsciously, Yukira was holding him too._

_Yukira wordlessly looked to the Hokage and the man sighed. The parent left reluctantly, asking twice if it was okay if Konohamaru were to stay._

_Lord Hokage cleared his throat, “As I was saying…”_

_\---_

“Wow! You have a headband!” Konohamaru shouted and rushed up to get a closer look. “No fair! I want one!” 

Sarutobi looked between the two in mild amusement. Those two were as thick as thieves, often coming together to prank the hokage (much to his dismay). 

“You have to earn one, like I did.” Yukira laughed. “Well, anyways, I have to get going. I told Naho that I’d be coming straight home. See you, Gramps, Konohamaru.” She waved and walked out the door. 

Later in the evening, Sarutobi Hiruzen stood, watching the sun disappear behind the tree line while taking a large drag from his pipe. In an hour's time, he was to announce the Genin teams to their respected Jōnin Sensei’s. 

He was conflicted. 

The man turned away from the window and glanced onto his desk. There laid the profiles of all the graduated Academy students of the year. Set aside from the rest, was Tsuki Yukira’s. Sarutobi was struggling to place her onto a team. Her ability as a ninja was far greater than her classmates, leaving her to likely be many steps ahead of them concerning experience. Truth-be-told, Sarutobi was contemplating her being taught privately, like Konohamaru. However, Iruka’s voice pleading him to place her in the same team as Uzumaki Naruto plagues his mind. 

_Yes,_ Sarutobi decides after a moment of thought, _Uzumaki Naruto and Tsuki Yukira will be placed under the same Genin team._ Iruka often mentions how well Naruto began to progress after Yukira started tutoring him. It’d be best for them to learn together. 

With a sigh, Sarutobi placed the profile of Uzumaki Naruto’s on top of Yukira’s. 

_Inuzuka Kiba_

_Aburame Shino_

_Uchiha Sasuke_

_Haruno Sakura_

_Hyūga Hinata_

The remaining profiles. 

_Uneven,_ Sarutobi grunted. 

Uchiha Sasuke. Known for his skill in Taijutsu. The student with the _second_ highest marks in Iruka’s class. May do well with the Hyūga. 

Then again, Hinata might do well with Yukira as well. 

Hinata, as far as Sarutobi knows, has activated her clan's Dōjutsu and is currently training under Yūhi Kurenai, one of the Jōnin instructors. 

_Perhaps she should continue training under Kurenai._

_Back to Sasuke…_

Sasuke and Yukira were alike. Both, as much as he hates to admit it, have tragic pasts and could potentially lean onto each other for support. _Which actually works out…_ Sarutobi mused, glad that choosing teams was slowly becoming easier. _Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto and Tsuki Yukira will train under Hatake Kakashi._

After placing Sasuke’s profile on top of Naruto’s, the older man glanced back onto his desk. 

_Inuzuka Kiba_

_Aburame Shino_

_Haruno Sakura_

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. 

“Excuse me, Lord Hokage.” Iruka’s tan features peaked through the crack in the door. “The Jōnin instructors are here.” 

Inwardly, Sarutobi scowled. He had to decide quickly.

\---

Once all the Jōnin were in the room and giving Sarutobi their undivided attention, he spoke. 

One through ten, he listed the names of all the Genin that he’d sorted into a team and appointed them to the Jōnin. 

“... Team 7. Hatake Kakashi…” Sarutobi announced. 

At Kakashi’s name, the room silenced.

“Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto…” 

Whispers broke out. 

“And Tsuki Yukira.” 

Iruka looked at the older man with wide eyes. Though, only being an advisor and witness to the selection of the Genin teams, Iruka could do nothing but watch. A couple minutes before the meeting, Iruka overheard a few Jōnin talking about how Kakashi has never passed a student. So, how could he… 

Iruka glanced towards the grey-haired male, who stood slouched without a care in the world. The man nodded towards the Hokage once, displaying a look that Iruka couldn’t read. 

“Next, Team 8, Sarutobi Asuma. Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino and Akimichi Choji.”

A few laughed. _InoShikaCho. The Iconic team._

Sarutobi waited for the noise to cease. “Lastly, team 10, Yūhi Kurenai. Hyūga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino.” 

Iruka paused. “Uh, Lord Hokage? What about Haruno Sakura?” 

“There will be one team with four students.” Sarutobi started. “Kakashi. I’m intrusting you to teach Sasuke, Naruto, Yukira and Sakura, understand?” 

“I understand.” The man confirmed with a nod. He may have seemed unfazed on the outside; however, he was perplexed. _The host of the nine-tailed fox, a Tsuki descendant as well as an Uchiha descendant? All of which were orphans?_ Kakashi dreaded the day he’d test them… _this will be troublesome._

“That will be all,” Sarutobi spoke, shifting all the profiles on his desk, “Any further questions will be dealt with tomorrow.

As Shinobi began to leave the room, Sarutobi called out to Kakashi, “A minute of your time, Kakashi? There are a few things I’d like to discuss with you.” 

At his words, Kakashi swung back, walking past the older man to lean against the window. He knew what this talk was about, he’d been expecting it. 

“It’s about Yukira.” Sarutobi started. “I placed her under your watch because you’ve trained with a member of the Tsuki clan before. You know how they act, their quirks.” The man paused, before turning fully to meet Kakashi’s eyes. “Yukira has great potential. I’m intrusting you to bring her to her full potential, Kakashi. I want her to be the fifth, if not, sixth Hokage.” 

Sarutobi’s eyes told Kakashi that he was dead serious. 

Kakashi becoming her Jōnin Instructor was no accident. 

“This may be too much to ask, but I need you to keep her safe, keep her alive. Can you do that, Kakashi? Stop her from doing anything that will put her in danger?” 

Kakashi felt it unfair. This was a lot of pressure. Somehow, Lord Sarutobi must know of the promise he made to Yukio, and was using it against him. 

Wordlessly, Kakashi nodded. 

“Members of the Tsuki clan are naturally protective at first instinct,ー” Something Kakashi knew very well, “ーkeep her from doing anything that’ll get her hurt.” 

“Yes, Lord Hokage.” Kakashi bowed before leaving. 

\------------

**Morning of January 24th, Yukira is twelve years old**

_“You weren’t there.” A voice whispered into Yukira’s ear. “You weren’t there when they came.” Yukira looked around the dark room frantically, trying to find the source of the sound._

_“You weren’t there.” A much more feminine voice sounded. “It should’ve been you. We weren’t who they wanted.” The shadow pulled at Yukira’s hair and picked at her skin. “It should’ve been you.” It sneered._

_“Why? Why did it have to be us? You were the one they wanted. They killed all of us. For you!” Another voice called out, louder than the last._

_Then, a deep, booming voice screamed into her ear, throwing off her senses and vibrating her eardrums. “We would still be alive if it weren’t for you! You should’ve worked harder! You should have been more like your brother! He would’ve protected us!” This voice she recognized. Her father._

_Shadows of all shapes and sizes approached Yukira, circling around her as if she was their prey._

_“Useless.”_

_“Weak.”_

_“It’s all your fault.”_

_“You’re pathetic.”_

_“Fool.”_

_“You’re a fool, Yukira.”_

_“You should’ve died.”_

_“Not us!” They all sneered._

_Yukira’s hand flew to her ears to block out their words. She was useless. It’s her fault her family is dead. “I’m sorry!” She screamed as tears flowed down her face. “I’m so sorry. It should’ve been me.”_

_“You’re right.” Her father growled. “They’re going to come for you. They won’t stop until you’re dead.”_

_"They want you dead, Yukira. They want you to pay for what you're going to do."_

_Yukira's teary eyes shot around the room in confusion. "W-what I'm going to do? What does that mean.."_

_"You have to do something about this. You have to kill them."_ _A soft voice called out, a sharp contrast from the rest._

_"I- How? How do I-"_

_"Use your eyes sweetheart," the voice called out once again._

_"My eyes?"_

_“You have it, Yukira. The Yamigan. My darling, you will avenge us. Kill them. Kill the people that harmed your clan.”_

_“Who?” Yukira desperately reached out to the figure. “Who did this? How can I help?”_

_“Your eyes are much more powerful than mine. More powerful than any of ours. Use them. Avenge us.”_

With a gasp, Yukira shot awake. Sweat beaded at her forehead and tears gathered in her eyes. She’s had many dreams like these. Ones where the shadows would suffocate her with guilt. This night though was the first time she ever heard a relatively _nice_ voice. 

_They? What had the voice meant by that? Sarutobi told me Uchiha Itachi killed my family._

A knock on her door shook her from her thoughts. “Yukira, honey, are you awake?” Naho walked into the room and looked at Yukira's obviously shaken form. “Oh my! What happened?” Naho rushed over to the trembling girl and pulled her into a hug and wiped her tears. “What’s wrong?” 

“I… I had a nightmare. I-I’m okay.” Yukira’s voice wavered. She wiped her sweat and sat up. Naho unravelled her arms and ran her eyes over Yukira’s face. 

“Promise me if anything like this happens again, you’ll come to me. I hate seeing you like this.” Naho pulled her into another hug before standing completely. “Breakfast is ready. I made eggs.” She smiled softly and left the room. 

Yukira rolled out of bed and flattened her hair that was surely sticking up all over the place. She dressed, and since she’d be starting her shinobi training today, she decided to braid her hair back to keep it out of her face. The braid reached her lower back covering a portion of the Tsuki clan crest embroidered onto her white vest. 

She walked out of her room and into the kitchen, where Naho was plating her egg with half a toast. The older woman smiled as she heard Yukira approach. “Hurry and eat, you’re supposed to meet with your new Sensei today.” Naho looked to Yukira and noticed her hair pulled back, “Oh! You look so beautiful.” She placed a kiss on Yukira’s head before walking to where the coat rack, “I have to run to the market, but I should be back before you get home.” 

“Later, Naho.” Yukira smiled at the woman as she walked out of the house.

When Yukira finished her meal, she put her plate into the sink and grabbed her ninja headband (or forehead protector), tying it around her neck. _Alright, let’s get this over with._

\-------------------

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask :)


	5. Team Seven Passes!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited: December 24, 2020 (incomplete)
> 
> For some reason, these chapters (4 & 5) are not agreeing with me.

**January 24, Yukira is twelve years old**

Yukira was one of the first students to arrive and took her seat in an empty desk. 

She had her head resting on the desk when someone plopped down loudly next to her. She looked up to see the bright blue eyes of Uzumaki Naruto. "Good morning, Yukira." Naruto said while proudly displaying his recently acquired headband. 

Yukira smiled in response, "Good morning, Naruto. Nice headband." She complimented. 

"Huh?" A student walked up to the desk where Yukira and Naruto were seated. "What are you doing here, Naruto. This isn't for dropouts. You can't be here until you graduate." Shikamaru told Naruto. He saw Yukira beside Naruto and flushed a pink tint. Yukire herself felt her own cheeks flush at his attention. “Heh. h-hey, Yukira.” 

“Shikamaru.” She greeted with a smile stretching across her pink cheeks. It was embarrassing because the pink contrasted against her porcelain skin tone. 

She’d never admit it out loud, but she has a little crush on the boy. 

Really, it all started when they were paired up for a small project they had to present to the class. Yukira had assumed the Nara wouldn’t do any work and just laze around but was surprised when Shikamaru contributed as much as she did to the project. That’s how she found out that the boy was hiding his intelligence behind a lazy demeanor.

"Oh yeah, do you see this? Open your eyes, Shikamaru. It's a regulation headband." Naruto pointed up at his headband, proving his point. "We're going to be training together. How do you like that?" the boy boasted with a cheesy smile as Shikamaru walked to his desk. 

Minutes later, Ino came and plopped herself in the seat next to her. 

The pale blond groaned, “I am so tired! I almost didn’t wake up today!” 

Yukira laughed at her friend, “Did you try to stay up all night again?”

Ino huffed without answering.

“Why do you keep trying to stay awake? I thought that girls always stressed about their beauty sleep or something like that?” Naruto grumbled, sluming into his seat. 

Ino turned to the boy and growled, “Shut up, Naruto. You wouldn’t know anything about beauty if it bit you in the-”

Ino was cut off by the door slamming open and loudly banging against the wall. 

Sakura and some other girls were attempting to shove their way into the classroom. When finally free of the horde, Haruno Sakura darted down the steps and into the seat that was unoccupied next to Sasuke. 

Yukira watched with an amused smile as Sakura fluttered her eyelashes at the boy before turning to sharply glare at the girls begging for Sasuke’s attention. 

“Man…” Kiba spoke from behind Yukira’s desk, “Girls are crazy.”

Yukira turned to look at him with a small smile, “Not all of us.” She laughed. 

Beside her, Ino had a doleful expression on her face as she watched the exchange. 

“How are you feeling?” Yukira asked in a whisper. 

Ino’s eyes shot up to meet the grey, pupiless eyes of her friend before a smile stretched across her features. “I’m fine, Yukira. I've passed that point.” 

Iruka then walked into the classroom then and calmed everyone down. He sent the fangirls to their seats, only two lucky(?) girls remained seated next to Sasuke. 

"As of today, you are all ninjas." Said Iruka, "To get here, you faced difficult trials and hardships. But that's nothing. What comes next will be far more difficult. Now you're only Genin, first-level ninjas. All the Genin will be grouped into squads. Each squad will be led by Jonin, an elite ninja." Explained Iruka, "This year, due to the uneven amount of graduating shinobi, there will be one four-man squad." After he said that, the class broke out into mumbles. 

"We want each squad to have a balance of strengths and abilities, so that's how we set them up. I will now announce the squads." Iruka began listing names, explaining which squad they're in and where they will meet with their new sensei. 

"Squad seven." Iruka started, "Tsuki Yukira ." Yukira looked up, _squad seven, I hope I don't get totally useless people_ . Meanwhile, the boys in the class who weren’t already in a squad found themselves wishing to be in that squad in order to get close with Yukira, though she hadn't noticed the class perk up upon hearing her name. "Haruno Sakura ." Iruka listed and Yukira felt her mood plummet. _Sakura? Really? I was hoping for Shikamaru..._ "Uchiha Sasuke ." _Hm, Sasuke, huh?_ Yukira suspected Iruka finished, and that was her team until he continued speaking, "and, Uzumaki Naruto." 

The idea of Yukira and Naruto being in the same group was heavily influenced by Iruka. He knows that the two get along well, and he hopes that Yukira will guide Naruto to the path of being a better Shinobi. Iruka’s glad that the Hokage agrees. 

Naruto turned to Yukira as soon as he got his name called, a large smile spreading across his face, his mind too occupied with the fact that he was going to be on Yukira’s team to think about Sasuke.

As Iruka began calling out the names of the remaining three teams, Yukira couldn’t help but feel a little upset about the fact that her team was the one chosen to have four members. Four members meant even less one-on-one training with their Jōnin instructor. 

"Ahem." Iruka cleared his throat, causing the excited chatter to slowly subside. "After lunch, you'll meet your new Jonin teachers. Until then, class was dismissed." 

Yukira gathered her belongings and walked out of the classroom quickly in an attempt to avoid her teammates for a little bit. 

“Hey, Yukira.” A small, timid voice called to her, “Would you like to eat lunch with us?” Yukira glanced back to Hinata to see her standing with both Kiba and Shino. _Must be her teammates,_ Yukira thought. 

"Oh. Hey, Hinata." Yukira smiled warmly before turning to greet her companions, "Kiba, Shino. Do you mind?"

"No, not at all." Kiba answered, a large grin creasing his patterned cheeks. "Though, I didn't know that you and Hinata were so close, Yukira. I always assumed that you only hung out with Ino or Naruto."

Honestly, Yukira thought that Hinata was great. Not only was she the only other girl that resisted Sasuke’s ‘charm,’ she was sweet. Not to mention that she was the only person besides Naruto and Ino that approached her in friendly terms. Most of the girls in the class felt threatened by Yukira and immediately acted bitter. 

Yukira laughed a little, embarrassed. _Do I really only hang out with Naruto?_

"Yukira and I are f-friends, we often have lunch together. I w-wanted to do it one last time because we might not see each other for a while." Hinata explained and Yukira's heart warmed. 

"I need to run to the shops for some food, I'll meet you guys-"

“You can have some of mine, Yukira.” Kiba offered. “My mom packed me two rice balls.” 

“Okay, thank you." She smiled warmly. "Where are we going to go?”

“W-well, I thought we could walk and find shade under a tree or something,” Hinata suggested. 

The four walked around the village until they came across a small clearing and sat under the first tree they found. Shino played around with the bugs that seemed to gravitate towards him, Kiba played happily with his pup, Akamaru, and Hinata played with the strings of her jacket. 

“Oh! Here you go, Yukira.” Kiba offered his extra rice ball to Yukira, who took it with a smile.

Akamaru yipped happily and climbed onto Yukira’s lap. “Heh. Hey, boy.” She laughed as he licked the hand that was petting him. “Sit.” She commanded, and the dog did just that. She tore a piece of her rice ball off and gave it to him. “Good boy, Akamaru.” She praised the pup. The only thought that was running through Kiba’s mind was, _she likes dogs!_

“So, Y-Yukira-chan. How do you like your squad?” Hinata asked, and Yukira’s mood immediately dampened. 

Yukira sighed loudly, “I haven’t exactly decided how I feel yet.” She trailed off, picking at her meal. 

“Your squad is going to be interesting, that’s for certain,” Shino commented. 

Yukira looked over to Shino, “Why do you say that?” 

The boy adjusted the glasses before speaking, “it’s obvious. Uchiha and Tsuki clan members in the same squad? It’s going to be one of the most legendary match-ups in history.” Yukira blushed at his implication. His voice was rather stoic; however, she knew his words were genuine. 

“Heh, I guess.” She muttered quite pathetically. The rest of the lunch was filled with small talk until it was time to go back to class. They were going to meet their new Jonin Sensei. 

**\------**

After lunch, when Yukira walked back into the classroom, Naruto had immediately come to Yukira’s side. “Hey, Yukira! Where were you at lunch? I thought that we could eat with eachother but you totally disappeared.”

Yukira suddenly felt guilty for intentionally ditching her friend. “Ah, I’m sorry, Naruto. I had lunch with Hinata and her teammates. Had I known, I wouldn't have made other plans.” 

“That’s okay!” Naruto laughed, “As long as you have lunch with me next time, okay?” Yukira nodded, and the two walked to a desk, unaware of Sasuke’s eyes. 

  
  


A lot of time has passed, and Team Seven's new Jōnin has yet to show up. Bored-ness and annoyance crept up on Yukira after the first 10 minutes of waiting. Now, she finds herself doodling figures on a piece of paper in hopes that their new sensei would arrive soon. 

“Hey, that’s really good,” Sakura commented while walking up to the white-haired girl. “You like drawing?” She asked. 

“Yeah, I do it sometimes,” Yukira replied. During the walk back from lunch, Yukira came to the decision that she would at least make an effort to get along with her team, even the annoying ones. 

“Do you like wolves?” Sakura asked.

Yukira nodded. “My brother had a summoning contract with wolves. He’d always summon them for me to play with when we were younger.” She smiled at the memory. _And when he was alive._

Sakura suddenly felt awkward. “Are you going to have a summons like that?” 

“I wish to.” She turned to the pink-haired girl. Sakura then noticed why she was the most popular girl in class. Yukira was absolutely gorgeous. Her pale complexion complemented her grey eyes (a pale blue, maybe? Now that Sakura was up close, she could see hints of blue) and long, white hair. Self-consciousness flowed over Sakura’s being like a wave. 

The scrape of a chair against the floor pulled the girl’s attention to Naruto. He went over to the chalkboard and grabbed the eraser and put it on the top of the door, positioned so it would fall when moved. "The other groups already met their new teachers and took off on some adventure or something, and Iruka Sensei's gone too." 

"We know, okay?" Sakura butted in, "Also, what are you doing?" She stood up from her leaning and walked towards Naruto. 

"That's what he gets for coming in late." He snickered while glancing at Yukira to see an amused look on her face. 

"You're asking for trouble. You know you shouldn't do that." Sakura placed her hands on her hips in a scolding manner. 

"Oh come on, Sakura. Have a bit of fun once in a while." Yukira joked while walking to help Naruto down from the chair. 

"Fun? This is not fun." She glared before looking back at Naruto.

"Our teacher's a Jonin-- an elite ninja. You think he'd fall for that?" Sasuke scoffed. 

"Yeah, Sasuke's right. You're so clueless, Naruto." Said Sakura. _As expected, Sakura is following Sasuke blindly._ Thought Yukira. _Who knew my teammates were going to be so lame?_

Just then, a hand touched the door. The four newly appointed Genin watched in anticipation as a head of grey hair stepped through the threshold of the classroom. He didn't get very far before the chalkboard eraser fell from its perch and onto his silvery hair. The four of them stood still in shock before Naruto burst out laughing, which caused Yukira to let out a few chuckles. 

"I got him. He totally fell for it." Naruto continued his laughter while Sakura looked horrified. 

“I'm sorry, Sensei. I told him not to do it, but she wouldn't listen. I'd never do anything like that." Sakura explained with her hands clasped together.

Yukira scoffed. _Teacher's pet._

The familiar grey-haired man bent down to pick up the eraser, "Hm. How can I put this?" He pulled a hand up to his face to rest it on his chin, " My first impression of this group: You're a bunch of idiots." The group deadpanned. "Meet me on the roof." The Jonin turned and left the room with the Genin following behind him. 

  
  


On the roof, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and Yukira sat down on a set of steps in front of the teacher. 

"Why don't you introduce yourselves one at a time?" The older man sighed, as if he was already sick and tired of the group. 

"Introduce ourselves?" Asked Sakura, "Well, what are we supposed to say?"

"Things you like. Things you hate. Dreams for the future. Hobbies. Things like that." Jonin crossed his arms, awaiting their answers.

"Why don't you tell us stuff first?" I mean, before we talk, tell us about you, so we could see how it's supposed to work." Naruto said from beside Yukira. They were sitting so close to each other, their knees were touching. 

"Me? I'm Hatake Kakashi ." He started. "Things I like and things I hate-- I don't feel like telling you." Team 7 looked up in shock. _Is this guy going to be like this all the time?_ "My dreams for the future-- never really thought about it. As for my hobbies-- I have a lot of hobbies."

"Well that was completely useless. " Yukira whispered to her teammates in annoyance. 

"Yeah. All he really told us was his name." Sakura agreed. 

"Okay, your turn." Said Kakashi. "You on the right--you first." He looked at Naruto. 

Naruto smiled, "Believe it. I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I like Instant ramen in a cup, and I really like the ramen Iruka Sensei got me at the Ichiraku noodle shop. But I hate having to wait three minutes after you pour the water into the ramen cup. My hobby is eating different kinds of ramen and comparing 'em. And, my future dream is to be the greatest Hokage. Then the whole village will stop disrespecting me and start treating me like I'm somebody-- somebody important." Naruto ranted. Yukira shook her head. _Loser,_ she thought fondly. 

“Alright, next.” Kakashi’s eyes shifted to Yukira. 

Kakashi’s gaze turned amused at the young girl's glare. _This was going to be interesting._

“I’m Yukira.” The girl said simply. "And I hate it when people are late." She glared towards Kakashi. 

“Alright then…” Kakashi trailed off, _Hot-head._ “Next, you.” He turned to Sakura. 

“I’m Haruno Sakura. What I like… I mean, who I like is…” Sakura blushed and glanced at a stoic Sasuke. “And, my hobby is, I mean… My future dream is…” She glanced at Sasuke again and squealed. Yukira eyed her judgmentally. 

“And, your dislikes?” Kakashi asked, bored. 

“Naruto!” Sakura sneered causing the boy to gasp in shock.

"Last one." Kakashi spoke. Yukira couldn't help but to wonder what was under that mask. 

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things, and I really only like one person." Sakura gasped when she heard this. Yukira couldn’t decide whether it was a happy gasp, or a sad one. "What I have is not a dream because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan and destroy a certain someone." Yukira looked up at this. _Could he be talking about Itachi?_

Yukira’s heart ached at Sasuke’s words. Sasuke was different. He was colder, meaner, a sharp contrast from the sweet, naive boy she knew years ago and it broke her heart. It broke her heart to think that she would never see the soft, happy side of Sasuke ever again. Itachi Uchiha… The boy that broke his little brother's spirit. It wasn’t hard to guess that Itachi was the one that slaughtered the clans but something didn’t sit right in Yukira. She had a hard time believing that Itachi murdered his own clan before moving onto hers…

"Good. You're each unique and you have your own ideas. We'll have our first mission tomorrow." Kakashi cleared his throat. 

"Uh, what kind of mission are we going to have?" Asked Naruto, who was happy to finally begin his ninja journey. 

"It's a task that the five of us will do together." Kakashi explained. "A survival exercise." 

"Huh? Survival exercise?" 

"I thought we were supposed to have a real mission, not more practice." Yukira stayed silent while Sakura spoke. "We already did this stuff at the academy. That's how we got here."

"This is not like your previous training." Kakashi stated. When Naruto asked how it was different, he only laughed. "Of the 27 graduates that just came here, only 9 will actually be accepted as Genin. The other 19 will be weeded out and sent back to the academy. In other words, this is a make it or break it pass-fail test and the chance that you'll fail is at least 66%." Yukira huffed. _There is no way I'm going to fail._

"That's crazy! We worked hard to get here. Believe it!" Exclaimed Naruto. "What was that graduation test for anyway?" 

After Kakashi explained that he was the deciding factor of their fate at Genin, he told the students to meet him at the training area at 5:00 am and he dismissed them. 

“Sensei,” Yukira stopped him. “I have something I need to ask you.” 

The man turned only slightly, glancing at Yukira from the corner of his eye. 

“Were… Were you there that night? The night my brother died?”

Kakashi didn’t speak when he turned to face her. He watched her for a moment before nodding once and disappearing in a cloud of smoke. 

**\-------**

**January 25, Yukira is twelve years old.**

At 5:00 am the next day, Team 7 joined together with bleary eyes and tired movements. Well, all except Sasuke, who seemed ready to face the day. Yukira decided to go against her new Sensei's advice and eat breakfast so she wouldn't get hungry. There's no way she'd puke, she never has before, she wouldn't now. 

As time flew by, and 5:00 am was a distant memory, Yukira was laying on the ground with a hand shielding the sun from her eyes. Earlier, she pulled off the sweatshirt that covered her body once the sun started to warm the land and placed it under her head. Next to her, Sakura was sitting while hugging her legs tightly to her body, Naruto was laying down while Sasuke remained standing. 

It must’ve been 11:00 before Kakashi actually showed up, "Morning, everyone. Ready for your first day?" 

Naruto and Sakura sprang up in anger. Yukira, however, was just waking up when Kakashi arrived. She sat up and grabbed the sweatshirt from under her head. A yawn escaped before she finally looked up at kakashi. "Hey!" Both Naruto and Sakura scolded, "You're late!"

"Well, a black cat crossed my path, so I had to take the long way." Kakashi lied. Naruto let out a frustrated groan. Yukira put her sweater in her backpack before pulling herself to stand. "Let's get started." Kakashi walked toward a stump and placed a clock down. "Here we go. It's set for noon. Your assignment is very simple. You just have to take these bells from me. That's all there is to it." He jingled the bells that he pulled from his pocket in a mocking matter. _This is going to be harder than he lets on._ "If you can't get 'em by noon, you go without lunch." Naruto groaned as Kakashi pointed towards the stumps, one of which had the clock on it. "You'll be tied to those posts, and you'll watch while I'll eat my lunch in front of you." 

"Wait a minute. There are four of us. How come there are only three bells?" Asked Sakura. 

"Heh, well, that way at least one of you will end up tied to a post and ultimately disqualified for failing to complete the mission. That one goes back to the academy." He jingled the bells again. "Then again, all four of you could flunk out, too. You can use any weapons, including shuriken. If you're not prepared to kill me, you won’t be able to take the bells." This caused Yukira to smirk. _Finally time to show Kakashi what skills I truly possess._ She felt her eyes shift into something unfamiliar and her senses getting stronger. Yukira’s confidence grew. 

Kakashi felt the shift in atmosphere and glanced over to the source. Yukira’s eyes were glowing a brilliant magenta. _The Yamigan. Surely this little girl hadn't activated it already? It took Yukio nearly twenty years. Not to mention she’s a girl._

"Those weapons are too dangerous, Sensei!" Sakura called, taking Kakashi's attention off the young Tsuki. And sure enough, when he’d looked back, they were her normal grey. 

"When I say start, you can begin." And before he actually said 'Start', Naruto surged forwards, kunai held tightly in his hand. As Naruto neared Kakashi with his kunai raised ready to attack, Kakashi stopped Naruto, quickly flipping him around so his weapon was aimed towards his own head. "Don't be in such a hurry. I didn't say start yet." Kakashi released Naruto and the other Genin backed up. _We've clearly underestimated Kakashi Sensei._ "But you came at me with the full intention of destroying me, so--" He huffed, "How can I say this. I'm actually starting to like you guys."

Yukira smirked as thrills ran through her body. "Get ready..." Kakashi started, "And..." The Genin readied themselves, "Start!" All the Genin jumped to trees for cover. 

Yukira spotted Naruto quickly and stopped him before he did something stupid. “Naruto,” She whispered, catching the boy's attention. “Please don’t do what I think you’re going to do.” She sighed. They were both hidden in the foliage of a tree and spoke in hushed voices. Yukira was thankful that Naruto knew they had to be a little secretive and wasn’t shouting around. 

Naruto looked surprised before scoffing, “How do you know what I’m going to do.” Yukira looked back to Kakashi to see him leaving against a tree, reading. 

“Don’t attack Kakashi. At least not on your own.” She surveyed the area, noting where she sensed two other chakra signatures, most likely Sakura and Sasuke. They were getting impatient. Sasuke would most likely attack soon. 

“Are you going to help me?” Naruto asked her. 

“Yes. Listen to me closely, you’re going to go in with your clones-” She started. 

“How much?” He asked enthusiastically. 

“Let me speak, Naruto.” Yukira glared at him. “You’re going to go in with seven clones. Can you manage?” She looked to him briefly to see him nod. “Then, while you’re distracting him, I’m going to trap him. Understand?” 

“Hmm, could you repeat it just in case?” He asked sheepishly. A sigh of frustration escaped her and she turned to naruto with a glare. “Okay, seven clones, got it. Just tell me when.” 

Just then, Sasuke jumped down, aiming shuriken and kunai at Kakashi. “Now, Naruto.” The blonde nodded and hopped down from the tree. Kakashi now had both Sasuke and Naruto attacking from both sides. If this went according to plan, Yukira would have a clear path for the bells.

For now, she observed.

Sasuke’s weapons hit their target, much to Yukira’s confusion, before she’d come to the realisation that it was a substitution. _The real Kakashi must be here somewhere._ Yukira looked around again, this time the unknown pressure returned behind her eyes _._ It took nearly a second to see that Kakashi was in the tree. Yukira pulled a kunai from her bag and sent some of her chakra to the metal to increase her force and accuracy, a little trick she’d learnt from her mother. She launched the weapon with vigor, sure that it would hit its target.

Kakashi was hidden in the tree leaves, observing the genin. Their attack was sneaky, and Kakashi was sure that this was put together by someone other than Sasuke and Naruto because there was no way that they would intentionally work together. Kakashi felt something coming. A weapon. He moved slightly last minute and watched a kunai wiz past his face. The weapon hit deep into the tree and much to his shock, he had heard it hit the ground a distance away. He looked in the direction of where the weapon came from and saw nothing. 

Yukira huffed _._ She wasn’t very keen on the idea of killing someone but she knew that Kakashi would dodge it, which would cause it to miss him completely, or it would deal damage. Otherwise, she knew her shot wasn’t fatal. _Now I have to think of something else._ He was still in the tree, but he wouldn’t be there for long now that someone is aware of his location. 

As Yukira expected Kakashi shifted to move positions. She groaned and decided to move in. She ran to Naruto, who was still on the ground, and tugged on his arm, gesturing to him to follow her. She felt Kakashi’s eyes on her fleeting figure as she pulled Naruto to another area. 

“Huh, Yukira. Where are we going? We almost had him, believe it!” Naruto exclaimed. Yukira ignored him and pulled him into a bush. 

“Make two clones and then use a transformation jutsu to turn into me. Have them walk off and then we’ll go into another direction.” She whispered to him. 

‘Uh, okay.” He formed the jutsu and had their clones run off. 

“Okay, now come.” She grabbed Naruto’s hand and pulled him in the other direction. They ended up in a vacant clearing. When Yukira deemed no one was there, she turned to Naruto with a smile. “That was good, Naruto. You really are getting better at transformations and stuff.” 

Naruto looked at her and a blush reddened his cheeks. “Heh, thanks.” He looked at her suddenly, “Say, why'd we do that though? Surely Kakashi Sensei would be able to tell the difference between clones and real people.” 

“I’m aware. We need to re-evaluate ourselves.” Yukira looked around to find cover somewhere before speaking. “This way.” She walked until she found a mostly shaded area. “Okay, so Kakashi is obviously a lot smarter that we’d originally thought. Although, I guess that’s what you could expect from a Jōnin.” 

“Yukira.” Naruto spoke, cutting her off. “Why are you working with me? Wouldn’t you want to work with someone like Sasuke?” 

Yukira looked to him in shock and suspicion. _Naruto would never say this. He thinks he’s better than Sasuke._ For now, Yukira was going to run with it. “Of course not. Although, the team would have a higher success rate if we all worked together.” Yukira turned, deliberately facing away from ‘Naruto’. _When had they been separated? Was it when they were in the bush? No, there’s no way,_ Yukira thought. _I had a grip on his hand the whole time. It must’ve been in the clearing with Kakashi. But where is he now?_

“Say, Yukira? What’s going on with your eyes.” ‘Naruto’ asked from behind her. 

She turned to him briefly with a confused look, “My eyes?” Yukira bent down and began drawing on the dirt. She worked fast, attempting to hide the fact that she was drawing a seal in the dirt. Seals were something that her father taught her. She wasn’t sure it was going to work, she hadn't done it before and she was rushing above that. 

“Hey, what are you doing?” The ‘Naruto’ sounded curious. Wordlessly, Yukira activated the seal, trapping the ‘Naruto’ in a solid dirt cage. “Wha! Hey! Yukira! What are you doing?” He shouted.

“You’re not Naruto and you’d be stupid to believe that I’d fall for something like that.” Yukira commented as she stood up. She looked at the boy in the face, studying him. _Is this a clone? Genjutsu? I suppose it’s quite useless to use a seal on an illusion._

The ‘Naruto’ smiled, and a cloud of smoke appeared. When the smoke cleared, Kakashi appeared. “You caught me.” He smiled. 

“No, I believe I caught your clone.” Yukira glared. “Where’s Naruto?” 

“You can use seals? Where’d you learn that?” Kakashi’s clone asked. 

“Enough questions. I’m leaving to find Naruto.” Yukira ran off, heading into the direction of the first clearing near the lake. As he was leaving, he heard the distinct noise of a clone being dispelled. 

Once she’d arrived, the first thing she noticed was that no one was there. It was completely empty. 

“Hi there.” She heard from behind her. Yukira turned to see none other than Kakashi with a squinty eyed smile. “I can easily say that you’re my favourite.” 

Yukira glared and stood into a defensive position. “Where are they?” 

“You didn’t expect them to just wait around for you, did you?” Kakashi said. Yukira growled and Kakashi observed as her eyes glowed once more. “Interesting.” 

Yukira surveyed her surroundings, taking advantage of her newly acquired visual prowess. _They were gone, but where?_ A distance away, she sensed someone's chakra signature. _Sakura._ She was laying on the ground, unconscious. Yukira’s eyes snapped back to Kakashi who was watching her curiously.

She quickly reached into her weapons pouch, pulling out a mix of kunai and shuriken and launched it at Kakashi. The man dodged it with ease, frustrating Yukira. She retaliated swiftly, appearing behind Kakashi and delivered a kick to his back, knocking him forward. She went in again, this time though, Kakashi caught her leg. With a great speed, yukira formed a clone jutsu and made sure that the sight was hidden from Kakashi. Her clone attacked from behind and Kakashi was forced to let go of Yukira’s leg to stop her clone’s attack. 

“When did you…” Kakashi trailed off. Yukira was already moving, forming her next attack. She made sure her clone was in position before she formed the signs. _Water Style: Water Bullet Barrage._

Kakashi felt his eyes widen in shock. _How has a Genin mastered such a complex Jutsu?_. 

Kakashi focused on escaping, there was no way he’d be able to dodge this attack. He’d only gotten so far before a body collided with his, trapping his larger frame under her smaller one. He was sure this one was the clone. Her clone grabbed the bells hanging on his belt and smiled in triumph. The clone stood up and appeared next to the real Yukira, delivering the bells to her. Kakashi was in shock. The girl was fast, clearly faster than he’d originally thought. The exercise wasn’t meant to be something simple, yet this girl acted as if she had everything under control. Kakashi could help but note that her eyes, the Yamigan, seemed to comply to her every demand, which was a sharp contrast to the last time he’d witnessed the Yamigan. _Next time, I won’t go so easy on her, I guess._

Yukira ran away while Kakashi was still on the ground with the bells clenched tightly in her hands. _Now I have to find Naruto._ As she ran through the trees, she ensured her senses remained sharp so she could locate the blonde as soon as possible. 

“Sasuke!” Yukira heard Naruto before she saw him and headed into that direction. “Sasuke, come on! You have to help me find Yukira. She could be in trouble.” His voice squeaked. Yukira couldn’t help but feel offended, _They don’t think I could handle myself?_

“Yeah Sasuke-kun! Last I saw, she was running off with Kakashi’s clone acting as Naruto.” She heard Sakura’s voice. _They’re all there?_ Embarrassment caused her cheeks to redden. Was she the only one who didn’t know it was a clone?

“Fine, but we have to hurry. Time is almost up.” Sasuke huffed.

Just then, Yukira burst through the foliage. “Yukira!” Naruto called out. “There you are! We were just going to look for you, believe it!” 

“Hey, Naruto.” Yukira smiled. “Look.” She said breathlessly, lifting up the bells. Her teammates looked shocked, before both Naruto and Sakura smiled brightly congratulating her. 

“But wait, there’s only three bells, what are we gonna do?” Sakura asked. 

Yukira frowned. The thought had crossed her mind but she couldn’t see herself deliberately excluding someone. It just wasn’t nice. 

“Well, Yukira got the bells. She should decide.” Naruto said. 

Sasuke was suspiciously quiet. When Yukira turned to him, she was surprised to see he was staring intently at her. In fact, they all were. They all wanted a bell. In their mind, Yukira would have one and two other people, leaving one person out. Guilty racked on her conscience. 

She sighed, coming to a decision. “Here.” She offered Sasuke and Sakura a bell with a smile. She met gazes with Naruto and her heart hurt as his sullen face. “And here.” She handed him the bell. 

The team looked to her in surprise, ‘B-But… Why?” Naruto asked. “Why are you giving your bell to me?” 

“Y-Yukira, you understand that if you give away your bell, you won’t be able to continue as a Genin?” Sakura asked, shaking her head. “This is silly, Yukira. Take my bell, you were the one to get them.” Sakura sighed, distressed. She placed her bell in Yukira’s hand. “You deserve it more than I do. I didn’t do anything but hide and faint during the exercise.” 

“No, Yukira-chan. Have mine. If anyone should be in team seven, it’s you three. I’ll just get in the way.” Naruto spoke. 

“Naruto,” Yukira scolded. “Stop talking yourself down, please. It’s not like you.” He looked up in surprise at her words. “This is dumb, guys. Please, just take the bells. I’ll be fine, I’m sure of it.” 

“Yukira,” Sasuke spoke for the first time, “Are you sure? Sakura’s right, Kakashi said that if we don’t get the bells, we’ll be sent to the academy.” Yukira briefly heard Sakura squeal in delight at her name coming from Sasuke’s mouth before she sighed. 

She was going to speak before the shrill sound of a bell sounded a distance away. Wordlessly, Yukira turned and walked into the direction of the clock. 

When they all arrived, Kakashi was leaning against one of the posts reading his book. “Ah, so you’ve returned.” He put his book down and turned to the Genin, who didn’t seem all that enthusiastic. “Well, have you come to a decision?” Kakashi asked. 

“Yes, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura will continue training under you.” Yukira reported, ignoring Kakashi’s curious gaze. 

“That doesn’t seem fair, considering you were the one who retrieved the bells.” Kakashi hummed. 

“You implied that whoever has the bells, passes this little test. They have the bells.” Yukira pushed. 

Kakashi sighed in frustration. _This isn’t how this was supposed to work out._ “You’re willing to sacrifice your position as a Genin for the other students? Why?” 

“I believe that together, these three will complete great feats. They don’t know it yet, but they will become one of the most legendary match-ups in history.” Yukira nodded to them, remembering Shino’s words. 

“Sensei, Yukira deserves to be a part of this group.” Sakura said. “She is the one who got the bells.” 

“Yeah! If anyone is supposed to be in squad seven, it’s Yukira. Believe it!” Naruto shouted from his spot. He walked up to stand beside her and slung an arm over her shoulder. 

Sakura walked forward too, standing beside Naruto and Yukira. “If Yukira isn’t going to be in squad seven, then neither am I. “ 

“Me neither!” The blonde boy agreed. 

Sasuke walked forward as well, he didn’t say anything, but his action confirmed that he was thinking the same thing. 

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at the Genin before sighing. “Well, I suppose it’d be a waste of time to send all of you back to the academy.” He hummed. “You all pass.” 

Naruto and Sakura cheered, and Yukira felt a small smirk climb onto her face. “Thank you, Kakashi-Sensei!” Sakura squealed. 

“The exercise was meant to test your teamwork skills. I’ll admit, it wasn’t as bad as I initially thought it’d be. In the beginning, Yukira, you had the idea to work with Naruto as a way to get the bells.” Kakashi noted. “And, the rest of you three, decided to go against your differences and work together when you thought Yukira was in some sort of danger.” 

“Oh, I get it!” Sakura commented. “Yukira also selflessly gave the bells to her teammates when she knew that it meant that she wouldn’t be fully promoted to Genin.” 

“Correct. Those who break the rules are scum but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum.” The Jōnin said. “Congratulations. We’ll start our first mission tomorrow.” 

  
**Next chapter: September 26th, 2020**   
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask :)


	6. Land of Waves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm getting more and more uncreative with these chapter titles… :/

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited: December 24th, 2020 (incomplete)

**March 15, Yukira is 12 years old**

“Yukira, point D.” 

“Sakura here at point C.”

“Sasuke, I’m at point B.” 

A pause, “Naruto here. I’m at point A.” 

“You’re slow, Naruto.” Kakashi scolded. “Okay, squad seven… Hmm?! That target has moved!” Kakashi yelled into the intercom. “Follow it!” Yukira jumped from her spot, silently following the target. She hid behind a tree, observing the target when someone appeared next to her. Yukira moved again, advancing. “What’s your distance on the target?” Kakashi asked.

“Five meters. I can go at any time.” Naruto spoke. 

“Same.” Yukira added. 

“I’m ready, too.” Sasuke spoke. 

“So am I.” Sakura commented. 

“Okay…” Kakashi trailed off, “Do it!” 

Together, all four of them advanced on the target, successfully trapping it. Though, Naruto was the one who had actually caught the cat. “Ah! I got him!” He shouted while keeping the cat’s claws at an arm's length away. 

“Does he have the ribbon on his right ear?” Kakashi asked, “Are you sure it’s our target, Tora?” 

“It’s the target, no mistake.” Sasuke spoke through the com.

Yukira walked over to Naruto and the cat struggling in his arms with an amused smirk. “Here, Naruto. Hand me the cat.” 

“Here, take it!” He shouted, thrusting the cat into her arms. Immediately, the cat calmed and began purring. Naruto looked to Yukira in shock. “How did you do that?” 

“Alright! Mission to capture lost pet “Tora” is complete!” Kakashi spoke. 

“Isn’t there a mission with a greater sense of urgency?!” Naruto shouted into the intercom. 

Yukira winced at the blonde's shrieky voice and looked at him with a scowl. 

“Could you keep it down, Naruto!” Sakura sneered. 

Yukira sighed and walked away from her dysfunctional squad. _I should’ve stayed in the academy._ “Come on, Tora.” She pet the cat, “Let’s get you back.” The cat looked to Yukira with scared eyes. 

Once back at the mission office, Yukira reluctantly handed Tora back to a plump lady with hair bigger than her head. _My name is_ _Madame Shijimi,_ she all but sneered at Yukira upon her greeting. 

“Ohh! My cute Tora! I was worried to death!” She said while rubbing her face along the cats. 

“Serves him right, that stupid cat!” Naruto laughed. 

“No wonder he ran away...” Sakura winced in favour of the cat. 

“Now then,” Lord Hokage spoke, drawing their attention, “The next mission for team Kakashi is… An errand to the neighbouring village to babysit the chief councillor's boy, helping his wife to do the shopping, digging potatoes-” 

“Noooo!” Naruto cut him off, whining. “I want to go on a real mission! Something challenging and exciting. Not this little kid stuff! Come one, old man!”

 _He’s got a point,_ Yukira thought. 

“You fool!” Iruka shouted, standing up from his seat. “You’re still a bottom rookie! At the start, everyone moves up the ladder by gaining experience from simple missions!” 

“B-but! It’s been nothing but blah missions so far!” Naruto was about to continue before Kakashi slammed his fist against his head, sending him crumbling to the ground. 

“Knock it off.” Kakashi sighed with his monotone voice. 

“Naruto!” Sarutobi scolded, “It’s necessary to explain what a mission is…” 

Yukira inwardly groaned. _A lecture. Typical from the old man._ She glanced at Naruto to see the boy clutching his sure to be throbbing head. Determined to ignore Sarutobi’s lecture, Yukira sat on the floor next to Naruto, striking up a silent conversation. The conversation traveled to what exactly Naruto ate yesterday. How, Yukira doesn’t know either. 

“Yesterday’s lunch was pork-bone broth noodles, today will be miso broth…” Naruto listed. Team seven was attentively listening to his little speal, ignoring the Hokage completely. 

“Listen!” Sarutobi ordered gruffly. 

“I-I’m sorry.” Kakashi said sheepishly. 

Yukira sighed and pulled herself to stand while dusting off her shorts. 

“Maaaan! You always lecture me, old man! But I’m not that little prankster you think I am!” Yukira raised her eyebrow at this. “Hmph!” Naruto defiantly turned away from the Hokage’s gaze.

Much to Yukira’s surprise, Lord Hokage agreed. “Okay, Fine! If you insist, I’ll have you do a C Rank mission. You’ll be bodyguards for someone.” 

“Really?” Yukira asked. _It’s about time we’ve had some excitement around here._

Naruto turned and faced the Hokage with an excited look in his eyes. “Aha! Who? Who?” A Feudal Lord!? Or a Princess!?” He exclaimed.

“Now, now. Don’t get so hasty. I’ll introduce you now.” Sarutobi took a puff from his pipe. “Could you please come in?” 

Team seven turned to the door in wonder. Slowly, the door slid open and a man carrying a bottle of sake stumbled into the room. Yukira raised a judgmental eyebrow and directed it to the Hokage. The man only smirked and shrugged innocently. 

“What’s this?” The stranger asked, causing Yukira to look at him again. “It’s just a bunch of damned squirts!” The man slurred and took a swig of his bottle. Yukira glared at the man in resentment, _drinking? This early?_ He breathed out heavily and leaned against the door frame. “Particularly, you, the smallest one with the idiot face. Are you really a Ninja?” He grunted. 

Naruto laughed, “Who’s the smallest one with the idiot face he’s talking about?” He glanced between his teammates. Sasuke was the tallest, then Sakura, then Naruto and the shortest was Yukira. “Hey! Kakashi-Sensei! Are you going to let him talk about Yukira like that!” Naruto shouted while a frown crossed her features. 

“I don’t think he was talking about Yukira, Naruto.” Kakashi sighed. Naruto looked at him confused before realisation flashed across his features. 

“I’ll kill him!” Naruto shouted in anger. 

“What good will it do to kill the old man you’re supposed to be guarding?” Kakashi scolded him. 

The man with the face flushed with alcohol leaned forward. “I’m Tazuna, veterin bridge builder. You’ll be risking your life and limb guarding me to the max until I return to my land and finish my bridge!” He slurred. 

“Very well.” The Hokage spoke. “You’ll have 15 minutes to pack for the journey. Meet Tazuna by the entrance gates then. You’re dismissed.” 

\--------------

Yukira packed only the essentials. A hair brush, clothes, her weapons pouch and a novel that she was in the middle of. She kissed Naho goodbye, informing her where she was headed and the older woman wished her luck. Now, she was at the front gates, waiting on the rest of her team. 

When everyone arrived, some a little later than others _(Naruto!)_ , they set out. 

“All right!” Naruto cheered. He was walking a little ahead of the group, taking in the scenery enthusiastically. “We’re off!” 

“What’re you so excited about?” Sakura asked from beside Yukira. 

“You see, I’ve never left the village before.” He cheered. 

“Hey! Am I really okay with this squirt?” Tazuna asked. The man seemed at least a little more sober than 20 minutes ago. Naruto stopped fast, obviously offended after hearing Tazuna’s words. 

Kakashi laughed, “I’m a Jōnin. I’ll be watching. There’s no need to worry.” 

Yukira sighed at the two and walked up to a sulking Naruto. “It’ll be okay.” She said sarcastically while patting his head. He briefly glared at her before turning fully to look back at Tazuna. “Hey, old man! Don’t be mocking Ninjas so much! I’m awesome, you’ll see! I’m a super-elite ninja going to be called Hokage one day! My name’s Uzumaki Naruto. Remember it well!” 

Tazuna took a swig from his bottle and side-eyed Naruto. “Hokage’s the super top-dog Ninja of the village, right? You sure as heck don’t seem like you could become Hokage.” 

“Ahh! Shut up!” Naruto yelled with a raised fist, marching towards the older man. “I’m prepared to do whatever it takes to become Hokage! You’ll have no choice but to acknowledge me then!” 

Tazuna huffed ignorantly, “I’ll never acknowledge you, squirt. Even _if_ you become the Hokage.” 

“What! I’ll kill you!” Naruto shouted to Tazuna for the second time today. Kakashi sighed in annoyance and held Naruto back by his backpack. 

“Naruto, come on. Let it go.” Yukira sighed while looking at the blonde in sympathy. A chill ran through Yukira’s spine at that moment. She looked around the woods curiously, _was someone watching them?_ When she turned on sensory mode, she could feel traces of chakra all over, but not in the shape of a human. _Curious._

\--------------

They were now on their way to the Land of Waves, Yukira was walking beside Naruto humoring him in a little game of iSpy. 

“Say, Mr. Tazuna-san?” Sakura spoke.

“What is it?” The old man grunted back. 

“Your village is in the “Land of Waves,” right?” She asked. 

“What of it?” 

“Say, Kakashi Sensei are there Ninjas in that village, too?” She turned to the Jōnin.

“No, there aren’t Ninjas in the Land of Waves. But in other nations, while cultures and customs are different, hidden villages exist and there are Ninjas.” Kakashi then proceeded to lecture the Genin about all the hidden villages and their leaders, i.e. the Kages. _Thanks, Sakura,_ Yukira thought sarcastically. 

“Hey, you all just doubted the Hokage, didn’t you?” Kakashi asked. The three Genin tensed, Yukira just looked around confused. Kakashi walked up to Yukira and placed a hand on her head. “Well, don’t worry. There are no Ninja battles in C Rank missions.” _Huh, worry? I wasn’t worrying…_

Yukira looked up to Kakashi with a glare on her face. _If this man doesn’t take his hand off my head…_

“Then, there’s no need to worry about getting into a scrap with foreign Ninjas.” Sakura smiled. 

“Of course not.” Tazuna grunted. 

Annoyed, Yukira slapped the hand holding her head and jogged to walk beside Sakura. Kakashi’s laugh filled the air as they continued their walk. Though, Yukira couldn’t get the feeling of being watched out of her mind. 

\----------------

All was going well, Yukira was walking in the back of the group with her senses on high alert. She was now positive there was someone following them. She briefly caught onto something a bit further back before it disappeared. 

They made their way across a bridge when Yukira decided it was too hot to wear her sweater. She took it off and shoved it into her bag. Kakashi was walking a little ahead of her, _what are the chances of getting him to carry my bag?_ She thought before a puddle caught her attention. Her teammates simply walked over it, or around it, whereas Yukira stopped and stared for a moment with narrowed eyes. A ripple distorted her reflection and she watched in shock as something began to emerge from the puddle. 

Two men jumped out with a great speed, fortunately ignorant of Yukira's presence. She watched as they released a chain and tied it around Kakashi tightly, trapping him. They pulled on their respective chains, tearing Kakashi apart. Yukira’s eyes widened in horror. _Now’s not the time, Yukira. Help Tazuna!_ She told herself. _Kakashi should’ve dodged that with his reflexes._

Yukira ran forward and planted herself in front of the old man and called Sakura to do the same. She watched the men appear behind Naruto, and she felt her resolve break. _If anything happens to Naruto…_

While shaking herself out of her thoughts, She surged towards the men and pulled a kunai from her pouch. They swung their chains but that’s as far as they got. Yukira threw her kunai with excellent accuracy and force and caught the chain, successfully snapping it. The men growled and released the now broken chain connected to their gauntlet. They changed their course and headed straight for Tazuna. Yukira pulled two more kunai from her pouch and aimed at the men. The kunai hit their targets, sending the men crashing to the ground. An uneasy feeling flowed over Yukira as she realised that they weren’t going to get back up. _I just killed those men…_

A hand landed on her shoulder and she looked up to see Kakashi looming over her. 

“Huh? You’re alive?” She looked at the scene where Kakashi would’ve died and noticed a sliced log.

“I am alive.” Kakashi said simply. “Good job, Yukira. You demonstrated that you know how to handle yourself in a dangerous situation and adapt. You too, Sakura.” The pinkette smiled with a blush, “Though, next time, aim for capture, not kill.” 

A pout formed on Yukira’s face, “I didn’t mean to, I just wanted to stop them. They were heading for Tazuna!” She sighed. 

Sasuke stood a distance away, scowling. _Show off._ He turned to see Naruto staring off with a frightened expression and smirked. “Hey Naruto! You aren’t scared are you? Scaredy cat.” 

“Naruto!” Yukira gasped, “Your hand!” she ran over to inspect the wound. _When did this happen?_ Yukira wondered. 

“What is this? This is nothing.” He brushed off, Sasuke’s insult completely escaping his mind at Yukira’s attention. 

“Actually, Naruto, It's not nothing. The enemy's claws contained poison.” Kakashi said. “You have to stand still or else it will travel faster in your bloodstream.” Naruto halted immediately. “You have to open to the wound to expel the poison.” Naruto cringed and looked at his hand. “By the way, Mr.Tazuna-san…”

The old man grunted, “Yeah? what?” 

We need to talk." Kakashi turned to the tree. “But , first…” He walked over to the men sprawled on the ground, “They're Chūnin from the village Hidden in the Mist. Their specialty is relentless attack. They'll keep fighting no matter what the sacrifice.” 

Kakashi turned and pointed to the puddle where the Chūnin emerged, “They came from there.” 

“A puddle?” Sakura asked with confusion creasing her brows. 

“Yes. Normally, there wouldn’t be a puddle on a clear day, when it hasn’t rained in weeks.” 

“In that case, why'd you leave it for the Genin to do the fighting?” Tazuna asked. 

“I could have taken them out quickly, but then, I'd have learned nothing. I had to know who their target was. And, what they were after.”

“Hm?” Tazuna's grunted, “What are ya' getting at?”

“I wanted to know if they were after us, ninja attacking ninja, or if they were after you, the master bridge builder.” Kakashi narrowed his eyes. “When you put in your request, you asked for standard protection from robbers and highwaymen. You didn't say there were ninja looking for you.” He accused the man, “If we knew this, this mission would have been ranked a B or higher.” Tazuna looked to the ground. “Our task was simply to get you to your destination and protect you while you finished building your bridge. If we knew we'd be fielding an attack from enemy ninja, we would have staffed differently and charged the cost of a ‘B’ mission. Apparently you have your reasons, but lying to us is not acceptable.” Kakashi paused for a moment. “We are now beyond the scope of this mission.” 

“We are Genin, this is too advanced for our level of training.” Sakura spoke up. When Yukira looked towards the pink haired girl, she tried hard to keep a laugh from escaping. Sakura's hair is wildly strewn all over her head. Yukira stopped fast as a thought came to her, _do I look like that?_ Yukira pulled her hands down in an attempt to smoothen out her long, messy hair. A blush rose across her cheeks. How long has it looked like this? “We should go back. I really think we need to treat Naruto's wounds as soon as possible. Back in our Village, we could take him to the doctor.” Kakashi hummed in consideration.

When kakashi confirmed that it was a good idea, Naruto spazzed and stabbed his hand before delivering a long speech that Yukira stopped listening to 5 seconds in. _He's so dramatic,_ Yukira sighed. 

Kakashi wrapped Naruto's wound and they kept walking. 

\-------------------

Yukira decided she doesn't like boats. It was her first time on a boat ride and she hated it. She'd nearly thrown up the whole ride. The only way to keep Yukira calm, was for her to sleep. So, as of right now, she's sleeping with her head in Sakura's lap (who didn't even let the boys touch her). “Yukira! Wake up.” Sakura shook the pale girl awake almost 'awing' at the little yawn she released. 

“Are we there already?” Yukira looked to Sakura before blushing. “Thanks. I didn't snore, did I?”

“No, you're a very calm sleeper.” Sakura giggled. 

They all exited the boat one-by-one onto the dock. Tazuna thanked the man on the boat as he paddled off. “Okay.” Tazuna looked at squad seven, “Take me to my home. And I mean in one piece.”

“Wow, it’s beautiful here.” Yukira said as they turned to walk, following the older man’s lead. On their journey, Naruto seemed to be more on guard than he usually is. Yukira only started paying attention when Naruto threw a Kunai at a white rabbit. _A white Rabbit?_ Yukira looked around, attempting to spot someone or something out of the ordinary. She used her sensory skills to try and pinpoint where exactly this strong chakra that she caught earlier was coming from. She walked over to Kakashi. “Sensei..”

“I know.” he sighed, “Behind us, on the tree.” 

“That's what I got too.” Yukira pushed her hair behind her and grabbed a hair elastic to tie it back. 

“Look out!” Kakashi yelled at the group huddled around the bunny. A large sword was thrown and aimed at Tazuna. Luckily, everyone ducked and no one was harmed. The sword pierced a tree and a man appeared standing on the hilt. The squad readied themselves and Kakashi stepped forward. “Well, well. If it isn't Momochi Zabuza. Rogue ninja of the Village Hidden in the Mist.” 

Naruto ran forward in an attempt to attack Zabuza but Kakashi halted his movement. “You're in the way. Get back.” Naruto shouted his protests at Kakashi. 

Yukira walked up to Naruto and grabbed his hand, “Come on, Naruto. Listen to Kakashi Sensei.” 

“He's not like those other Ninjas,"Kakashi explained. “He's in a whole other league. If he's our opponent. I'll need this.” Kakashi lifted his hand and pulled the headband from where it sat covering his eye. “This battle might be traitorous.”

“Kakashi of the Sharingan eye. Did I get that right?” Zabuza asked although it wasn't really a question.

_The Sharingan? That's only for Uchiha clan members. How does Kakashi have the Sharingan?_

“It's too bad, but you'll have to hand over the old man.” Zabuza turned fully to look at them. 

“Now, quick! Manji formation!” Kakashi yelled as squad seven got into their positions, surrounding Tazuna. “Protect the Bridge builder. And stay out of this fight.” 

“Huh?” Sakura asked.

“I've taught you teamwork and now it's time you use it.” He fully lifted his headband revealing a nasty scar and a red, Sharingan eye. 

“I've never thought I'd see the Sharingan in action. This is an honour.” 

Naruto asked what the Sharingan was and Sasuke explained. 

“You're listed in our Bingo Book. Kakashi, the man who copied over a thousand jutsus.” The man, Zabuza, sneered “Enough talking. I need to exterminate the old man.”

Tazuna gasped in fear. 

“Don't worry, Mr. Tazuna.” Yukira smiled at the man, “We'll protect you.” 

Zabuza moved swiftly, ripping his sword from the tree and appearing on top of the water. _He's building up so much chakra..._ Yukira thought in amazement. “Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu.” He spoke just before he vanished, only leaving a stray leaf in his path. 

“He vanished!” Sakura gasped. 

“He'll go after me first.” Kakashi said as he attempted to look through the dense fog. .

 _I can't see anything, the fog is too thick,_ thought Yukira 

“Who is he?” Sakura asked in fright.

“Momochi Zabuza. The ex-leader of his Hidden Mist assassination unit. He's a master of the silent killing technique.” Said Kakashi. 

“S-Silent?” Asked Naruto with fear evident in his voice. 

“It's so fast, you pass from this life without realizing what has happened. The Sharingan cannot fully neutralize it, so don't lower your guard.”

Yukira attempted to sense his chakra but she couldn't. He must have masked it. 

"Well, if you fail, you only lose your lives." Kakashi spoke, causing a gasp from Sakura's lips. 

“How could you say that?” She shrieked. As the mist got thicker, Kakashi slowly disappeared from view. “Sensei!”

Squad seven stood with Tazuna in the centre, they all had their kunai drawn and stood in a defensive position. “Eight points.” They heard suddenly. Yukira recognized it to be Zabuza's voice. “Larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular and subclavian arteries, kidneys, heart. Now, which will be my kill point.” He asked?

Only a few seconds after that, Kakashi found a way to dispel the mist. 

Sakura glanced at Yukira for a moment. _Are my eyes playing tricks on me?_ _Is she glowing?_ Sakura rubbed her eyes. _It's still there, what is that?_ A soft, barely visible, pink hue surrounded the white-haired girl.

Beside her, Sasuke trembled, visibly affected as Yukira was earlier. He lifted the hand which held the kunai up to his stomach. Yukira placed her hand on his, "Sasuke, you've got to relax." She spoke softly. His eyes shot to hers and he calmed under her gaze. 

"All of you!" Kakashi yelled, "Calm down. I'll protect you with my life." Yukira stared at Kakashi in shock, "I will not allow my comrades to die." He turned briefly to smile at them, "trust me." 

"I wouldn't be so sure." Zabuza leaped down from his hiding spot landing directly in-between Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura and in front of Tazuna. Luckily, Yukira was behind Tazuna and pulled him out of the way when Kakashi flew in to attack. 

Tazuna muttered a soft 'thank you' to her before looking at Kakashi and Zabuza. Yukira noticed something off. "Kakashi, It's a clone!" She yelled to him, "Behind you!" 

Zabuza struck Kakashi, only, water splashed the ground rather than blood. _So, He'd known it was a clone. Well, I guess he's not a Jonin for no reason._ The grey-haired male moved fast, almost too fast for Yukira's eyes to comprehend, and placed a kunai directly to Zabuza's neck. "Now it's over. You're finished." 

Zabuza chuckled darkly, "finished? You really don't get it do you? Your attacks are nothing but an imitation. I'll never be defeated by a mere copycat ninja like you." Kakashi grunted and glared at the man, "You are full of surprises though. You'd already copied my water clone jutsu when you made that tittle speech. Very skillfully executed. You made your clone say those words as a distraction while you hide in the mist, waiting for me to make my move." Another Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi, "Nice try, but I'm not that easy to fool." Kakashi got rid of the clone in front of him before ducking as he saw Zabuza's large sword swing in his direction.

Zabuza retaliated quickly as he anchored himself on the hilt of his sword to kick Kakashi meters away into the lake. 

Yukira gasped in shock. _Zabuza must really be a skillful opponent to get Kakashi like that._

Seconds later, Kakashi emerged from the lake, only something wasn’t right. Just moments before, Zabuza jumped into the lake as well, which gives him a clear advantage against Kakashi considering his chakra Nature is most likely water. 

“Kakashi! You have to get out of the water!” Yukira yelled to him. 

“Humph…” Zabuza scoffed. “You’re all fools! It’s the Water Prison Jutsu!” The other Jōnin called. 

Kakashi was suddenly surrounded by water in the form of an orb. Zabuza kept one arm in the water trapping Kakashi. 

_So, as long as he's connected to the Water Prison, Kakashi is stuck. Assuming that’s why he’s holding onto it like that. All we have to do is get Zabuza separate from his Jutsu._

“I’ll finish you off later. First, I will finish those guys off.” Zabuza told Kakashi as he turned to face the Genin and Tazuna. The Jōnin used one hand to form a clone jutsu and it emerged from the lake. “You’re acting big, wearing a headband like a Ninja… But… a real Ninja is one who has hovered between life and death numerous times. In other words, only those who are worth being listed in my Bingo Book deserve to be called a Ninja. Guys like you can’t be called real Ninja.” Zabuza called forth the fog again, blinding the Genin. 

Yukira’s Yamigan remained, unbeknownst to her, allowing her to see past the fog and follow Zabuza’s rather silent movements. But, she was too late. When she’d finally chalked up the confidence to attack, Zabuza landed a kick on Naruto, causing him to go flying a decent distance away. During the attack, Naruto’s Shinobi headband untied and landed by Zabuza’s feet. The older man stepped onto the headband and squashed it into the ground with his feet. 

“You’re just kids.” Zabuza growled. “Undeserving of the Ninja title.” 

“Naruto!” Sakura called in worry. 

“You four! Take Tazuna and run! You have no chance against this guy!” Kakashi’s voice was muffled by the water but the Genin heard him loud and clear. “As long as he has me trapped in this Water Prison, he won’t be able to move from here. And he shouldn’t be able to use the Water Clone Jutsu if he’s far enough away from his real body. In any case, just run for now!” He yelled. 

_Run away? He just wants us to leave him? No way! Regardless if we run, he’ll catch us! There’s no way he’d let us live._

“Kakashi, you’re kidding yourself if you think we’re just going to leave you!” Yukira yelled to their Sensei. 

Sasuke threw a couple shuriken, which were blocked easily by Zabuza’s large sword. Though, Sasuke relented and attempted to land an attack by jumping straight in front of Zabuza. 

Their opponent caught Sasuke by the throat before he could do any damage and threw him off to the side. 

Yukira grunted in annoyance and decided to try her luck on defeating Zabuza. 

“Sasuke, no!” Sakura whined. 

Yukira created roughly ten clones and ordered them to surround Zabuza’s clone as she disappeared into a tree. They all pulled kunai from their pouches, loaded them with chakra and shot them at their target. The enhanced weapons coming from all directions proved difficult to dodge as Zabuza’s clone barely managed to escape. 

Yukira’s clones stood and watched as Zabuza dispelled every last one. From the tree, Yukira heard Sakura’s worried gasps and Naruto’s loud cry of her name. Once all the clones were gone, the others looked around in confusion. Of course, with Zabuza’s experience, he’d probably known that they were all clones and the real one was hiding somewhere. 

What Yukira didn’t notice was Zabuza creating another clone to find the real Yukira. 

Zabuza’s second clone appeared behind Yukira, emitting a shocked gasp from the young Tsuki’s mouth. The man’s clone yanked Yukira from the tree by her hair and held her so her feet were dangling off the ground. 

“Yukira!” Naruto shouted, causing the girl to look up with pain clear in her gaze. 

“The Yamigan. How interesting.” Zabuza growled into her ear. “You must be a part of the Tsuki clan. Yes, interesting indeed.” He tightened his grip on her hair and the girl winced, feeling powerless against the older man. The others watched in anticipation, not knowing whether or not Yukira was going to defend herself. The shame of her teammates seeing her weak and defenseless burrowed deep in her heart. “Now, your family was definitely in my Bingo Book. Too bad they were all slaughtered like dogs… Or was it wolves?” Zabuza taunted. 

Yakira seethed in her spot. Her eyes flashed as an unfamiliar power surged through her veins. She twisted in his hold, ignoring the pain pulsing from his grip and flipped herself so she could wrap herself around Zabuza’s clone’s middle. Quickly taking a kunai from her pouch, she sliced the blade through the clone's neck. 

The clone splashed onto the ground as Yukira landed on her two feet. Her vision was slightly dizzy as the Yamigan took effect on her young eyes.

The real Zabuza chuckled darkly from his spot on the water, “Now, that’s what I’m talking about.” 

Yukira’s gaze grew hazy and she couldn’t exactly see what was happening on the field. 

“Yukira! Watch out!” She heard someone scream, _Naruto,_ before a body crashed into hers causing her body to slam against the ground. She looked up to see Sasuke’s inky black irises. She looked to her right to see Zabuza’s clone’s large sword piercing a tree a few meters away. She looked back to Sasuke’s eyes and breathlessly said, _thank you._

Naruto ran towards Zabuza’s first clone with a cry. The Jōnin simply kicked the boy away while the others watched as Naruto skidded across the ground. Naruto jumped up and ran at the clone again with the same result. 

“What are you thinking charging off on your own?” Sakura shrieked. “Not even Yukira or Sasuke are a match for him. No matter how hard we try, we Genin are no match for him-” Sakura cut herself off with a gasp of surprise. Slowly, Naruto pulled himself to stand and in his grasp, was his Shinobi headband. Yukira felt a smile pull at her features despite the pulsing pain in her head.

With small grunts of pain, Naruto stood straight. “Hey, you… With no brows… Record this in your Bingo Book… About the Ninja that will become Hokage of the Village HIdden in the Leaves one day… He never backs down.” Naruto spoke with determination as he tied his headband back onto his head. “His name’s Uzumaki Naruto!” 

_Oh, Naruto..._ Yukira sighed, _You are the bravest and most pure person I know. My dream is for you to become Hokage._

Yukira’s eyes were hazy, yet again. _My chakra levels are fine, why am I so exhausted?_ She felt her eyes droop slowly and her body was shifted so she was leaning against a tree. 

Eventually, her exhaustion won over and Yukira fell into a slumber. 

“Huh…” Zabuza commented while looking at the unconscious girl, “I guess the Yamigan isn’t so great after all. Too much power for a little girl to handle.” 

\-----------------------------

Yukira’s body felt heavy. All her effort was put into opening her eyes.

_How foolish. Falling asleep in the middle of a battle is sure to get you killed._ She could almost imagine the barrage of insults aimed at her from her father. 

Yukira’s eyes opened to see Sakura hovering over her body with Tazuna beside her. Their attention was elsewhere, and Sakura was saying something Yukira couldn’t quite understand. 

She shifted her eyes in the direction of Sakura’s gaze and saw that Kakashi Sensei had stopped a Demon Wind Shuriken from being thrown at Naruto. 

The blonde boy emerged from the water while taking in large gulps of air. “Naruto…” Kakashi called out, “That was an excellent plan, your strategy was outstanding. You’ve really grown haven't you.” 

Naruto laughed shamelessly at Kakashi’s words. “The purpose of the shadow clones wasn’t to take down Zabuza, but to hide my transformation into the Demon Wind Shuriken!” As Naruto explained his genius plan, Yukira grabbed onto the tree to pull herself up. 

“You’re telling me that was just a fluke!” Tazuna shouted. 

“Might’ve been a fluke…” Yukira grunted, “but you can’t say that wasn’t a clever plan.” She finally pulled herself upright, “Good job, Naruto!” She shouted to the boy bobbing in the water. 

“Huh! Yukira, are you okay?” Sakura crowded her. The pink-haired girl gripped Yukira’s arm when she recognized the hazy look returned. 

Yukira ignored the girl and kept her gaze focused on the Jōnin about to battle it out. She turned to Tazuna and noticed the man already staring back at her almost regretful eyes. 

“Guys, stay focused on the mission and protect Tazuna.” Yukira told her teammates. 

“Are you sure you’re okay, girl? You don’t look too good.” Tazuna asked her. 

“I’m fine.” She grunted, keeping her eyes on the enemy. 

Kakashi and Zabuza suddenly jumped away from each other in complete unison. 

“The Sharingan…” Sasuke whispered from beside her. 

Both men formed hand signed completely in sync. _Kakashi the Copy Ninja._

“Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!” They both shouted. Two Water Dragons emerged from the water, looping around each other before colliding as an attack. 

Water from the attack splashed over the shore line and onto the ground where the three Genin and Tazuna were standing. The Dragons remained attacking while water sprinkled down onto them like rain. _He copied that jutsu perfectly in seconds!_ Yukira thought in amazement. 

The Jōnin fought with their weapons; Kakashi with a kunai, and Zabuza with his sword. 

A small sound from behind them caught Yukira’s attention. The sound was so quiet, she wouldn’t have picked it up if not for her advanced senses. The sound on wood cracking under pressure, likely from somebody’s weight. She turned in confusion and briefly spotted something, or someone hiding behind the trunk of a tree. She was about to walk towards the blurred figure but reckless water splashed up into her face, halting her. 

Yukira looked back to the scene where Zabuza and Kakashi had once been to see Zabuza being lifted off the ground and swept into a Water Vortex Jutsu. 

_Naruto is still in the water!_ Yukira thought. She spotted Naruto’s yellow hair barely breaking the surface and rushed over, leaving Tazuna to Sasuke and Sakura. Once she had a grip on Naruto’s hand, Yukira pulled him out of the lake (well, as much as she could… most of the water was on land now…) and held onto him until the waves and current died down. 

Once Naruto was steady on his feet, Yukira let go of his hand and walked over to where Sakura and Sasuke stood. The pair were watching Kakashi as he pinned Zabuza against the tree. 

“How did you… Can you see into the future?” Zabuza asked Kakashi breathlessly. 

“Yes. And this is your last battle.” Kakashi said. 

Yukira picked up that same chakra from before. Wherever they were, they were watching them.

Suddenly, two needles (or senbon) stuck Zabuza in the neck. The Jōnin let out a cry of pain before crashing to the ground. 

Yukira looked in the direction where the senbon was shot from and noticed someone perched on a tree branch wearing a mask. 

“It seems you’re right. That was his last match.” The person chuckled. Their voice smooth, slightly feminine. They couldn’t have been older than Yukira. 

Kakashi leapt from his spot on a different tree and onto the ground next to Zabuza. 

Kakashi bent down next to Zabuza’s head and checked his pulse. “He’s definitely dead.” The Sensei turned to the Ninja on the tree with what looked like a suspicious gaze. 

The figure bowed, “I thank you. I have been waiting for the chance to kill Zabuza.” 

“By the looks of that mask… You’re a tracker Ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist.” 

The tracker-nin looked to Kakashi, “Impressive. You’re very knowledgeable.” 

Something wasn’t right about this. His whole situation seemed too bizarre to be believable. Suspiciously, the Ninja uses senbon, an unlikely weapon if you’re aiming to kill. 

Naruto ran forward with a growl, “What is this? Who do you think you are? Did you hear me?!” 

Kakashi stood up. “Don’t worry, Naruto. He’s not the enemy.” 

“Huh? That’s not what I’m asking! I-I mean! That Zabuza… That Zabuza was killed. That guy was so strong!” During Naruto’s little rant, Kakashi walked up to him. “He was killed so easily! And by a kid who’s no different than me. We’re… We’re pathetic! I can’t accept that.” 

“Well, even if you don’t accept it, it still happened, Naruto.” Kakashi placed his hand on top of Naruto’s head, “In this world, there are kids who are younger than you, and yet stronger than me.” 

Yukira heard Naruto grumble as she turned to the kid in the mask once more. _Is this kid stronger than Kakashi?_ The Tracker-Nin then disappeared, then reappeared next to Zabuza with a swirl of wind and stray leaves. “Your struggle is over for now,” They said while lifting Zabuza’s body. “I must deal with the remains.” There are many secrets in this body. They must not be allowed to get into the wrong hands.” It looked strange, such a small body carrying a tall, adult male. “Please excuse me. Farewell.” They said as they made a hand sign before disappearing. 

Naruto gasped, “He disappeared!” 

Kakashi sighed and pulled his headband back over his scarred eye. Naruto ran over to where the kid and Zabuza once were. “He’s gone, Naruto. Let it go.” 

Naruto growled in frustration and fell to his knees. Yukira watched in shock as he began to punch the forest ground repeatedly. “What’re we doing here?” He growled, “We’re nothing! I can’t believe it!” 

Yukira pushed past Kakashi and bent down to Naruto’s level. She grabbed his hand, stopping him from hurting himself further. “Hey.. Naruto, stop. You’re going to hurt yourself.” She spoke softly, afraid to push the boy further to the edge of his frustration. Naruto looked into her eyes in shock. “Everyone is okay. That’s all that matters right now. Please…” She squeezed his hands in comfort, “Don’t hurt yourself.” 

“As Ninja, this we encounter is never easy. Save your anger for the next enemy.” Kakashi spoke, walking up to the pair on the ground. “We haven’t completed our mission yet. We still have to get the bridge builder to his bridge.” 

Tazuna lifted his straw hat and laughed, “Sorry for all the trouble I caused ya’. But you all can rest at my house when we get to the village.” 

Yukira looked at Naruto once more, their hands still clasped together, before standing up, dragging Naruto up with her.” 

“All right. Let’s get a move on.” Kakashi called out. The Jōnin took one step forward before his eyes widened and he crumpled to the ground. 

“Sensei!” Yukira shouted, eyes wide in shock. She ran over to where his body lay limp on the ground.

“W-what happened?” Sakura cried out as she too ran over with the others following her. 

“Kakashi Sensei?” Naruto said cautiously. “Kakashi Sensei!” He shouted in an attempt to wake their teacher. 

Yukira bent down, checking for the man’s pulse. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she felt the distinctive thump of a heartbeat. “He's alive, he just fainted.” She looked up to Tazuna, “We need to get to the village. Can you help?” 

“Leave it to me.” Tazuna smiled before he bent down, throwing Kakashi’s arm over his shoulder and gripping his waist to keep him from falling. 

Tazuna guided the Genin through the village and into his house. In the house, they met Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter who offered them tea before sending them off for a much needed rest. 

  
**Next Chapter: September 26, 2020**   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask :)


	7. Hey, psa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will be deleted a week after chapter 7 is published.

Hey all, 

It's been a while... 

I know I said I'd have the story finished by Christmas but uhhhh... I got way too busy (and lazy). I'm going to be frank with you, this Zabuza arc is my LEAST favourite arc in the entire series, I've said this before in the older draft, but I thought I'd say it again. This arc is sooo long and boring and it's hard to fit Yukira's story... I've been stuck at this one part because I can't seem to write a smooth transition to introduce a few more things about Yukira's background and such. 

There is approximately 22 chapters in this story as a whole (so 16 left to publish), and they've all been planned out, essentially all I have to do is type it out. 

I'm probably going to focus on school for the meantime because midterms are this week, but chapter 7 is nearly finished. 

As always, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask :))

Also, I feel like I have to say that this story is a whole series rewrite where Yukira is the main character, NOT Naruto. Of course, everything will be (nearly) the same in terms of Naruto being a bijuu and how he's like the saviour of the village but everything is written in Yukira's point of view and she's obviously going to be a huge part of the story and affect multiple arcs. 


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